Species: Mugil longicauda, Longtail Mullet

Mugil longicauda Guitart & Alvarez-Lajonchere, 1976

Longtail Mullet

Body elongate, slender (depth 20-25.6% of SL); tail base long (17.8-18.9 % SL); head small (length 20-24.5% of SL), top of head flat; eyes mostly covered by a well developed transparent fatty eyelid; mouth small, opens at front, (rear end of upper jaw reaching to between rear nostril and level of front rim of eye), top lip thick, lower lip very thin, with knob at front of lower lips; outer (primary) teeth in jaws tiny but visible with naked eye as a fine fringe, distinctly curved; upper jaw with broad toothless gap between outer (primary) row and inner (secondary) row of teeth; lower teeth tiny, on the outer edge of the jaws, horizontal and with tips pointing up; front nostril nearer upper head profile than is rear nostril, rear nostril nearer to front nostril than to eye; two short, widely spaced dorsal fins, IV + l, 8, origin of 1st dorsal nearer snout than base of tail fin, origin of 2nd dorsal over center of anal fin; anal fin III, 9; pectorals 15-16, high on body, 1st ray hard, length = head, rear tip to origin of dorsal fin =1/2 pectoral fin length; pelvics inserted behind pectoral base; forked tail; scales moderate to large, rough on body of adults; 37-39 scales in lateral series; pectoral fin without a large scale in its inner base; second dorsal and anal fins with small scales; no lateral line.

Silvery; fins dark except pelvics, which are whitish; some flank scales with a red central streak; a yellow blotch on the operculum.

Reaches 53 cm.

Depth range: 0-10 m?

Coastal waters

Cuba.