Common Name
Bobo Mullet
Year Described
Poey, 1860
Identification
Dorsal Fin: IV, 10
Anal Fin: II,10-11
Pectoral Fin: I, 15-18
Lateral Line Scales: 42-46
Transverse Scales: 13-14
Circumpeduncular Scales: 20
Gill Rakers: 27-40 (lower limb of first arch)
Body elongate; cylindrical anteriorly and becoming compressed posteriorly. Snout blunt. Top of head with convex cross-section. Eye diameter much smaller than snout length. Inferior mouth reaches middle of orbit. Adipose eyelid absent. Spiny dorsal fin situated anterior of mid-point of body. Anal fin inserted forward of second dorsal fin to about even with it. Dorsal and anal fins covered with small scales. Pectoral fin fairly high on side and reaching dorsal fin origin. Tail forked. Body scales ctenoid.
Color
Larger adults greenish-brown with silvery scale centers forming a reticulate pattern on the body. Ventrum paler white. Fins are dark brown to reddish-brown with pale distal margins. Younger fish are paler overall with brighter red fins with greenish margins. Juveniles have black tips on the rear median fins and tail.
Size
Maximum size to about 50cm SL
Habitat
Adults most common in freshwater rivers and streams but enter the sea to spawn. Young fish spend their life in the sea and migrate into estuaries and rivers with maturity.
Range
Bahamas to the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Also the Atlantic Slope drainages from Mexico to Colombia.
References
Harrison, I.J. 2002. Mugilidae (pp 1071-1085). In: Carpenter. 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 2: Bony fishes part 1 (Acipenseridae-Grammatidae). FAO Species Identification Guides for Fisheries Purposes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Special Publication No. 5.