Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758

Saad, Adib, Çiçek, Erdoğan, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil & Eagderi, Soheil, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Syria: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5350 (1), pp. 1-62 : 45

Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758 [N]—Flathead mullet; Bouri aphtas

Taxonomy. Original description: Mugil cephalus Linnaeus, 1758: 316 [European sea, Europe; syntypes: NRM 43 (1), 44 (2), 143 (1)].—Syrian synonyms: None.—Revisions: Durand et al. (2012:692).—Illustration: Ben-Tuvia in Whitehead et al. (1986: 1202, fig.).

Status in Syria. First record from Syria by Beckman (1962: 165); confirmed by Saad (2005).—Syrian material: None.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Syria: Mediterranean watersheds.—Distribution in River Basin: 4- Orontes, 6-Coastal.—General distribution: Nearly circumglobal in temperate and tropical seas and estuaries (including Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, Black Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, Sea of Japan); introduced elsewhere.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 437-Orontes.—Habitat: This species is a euryhaline, pelagic nearshore species that sometimes forages in lagoons, estuaries, and lower courses of rivers and can tolerate freshwater. It inhabits inshore marine waters, estuaries, lagoons, and rivers, where it can tolerate wide ranges of temperature and salinity. Freshwater, brackish, marine.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

Conservation. Conservation status in Syria: Unknown.—IUCN: LC ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: No major threats known.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Stable.—Low priority for conservation action.