Chelon auratus ( Risso, 1810 )

Çiçek, Erdoğan, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil, Çapar, Osman Bahadir & Golani, Daniel, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Israel; a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5369 (4), pp. 451-484 : 472

Chelon auratus ( Risso, 1810) [N]—Golden grey mullet; Kiphon zahov

Taxonomy. Original description: Mugil auratus Risso, 1810: 344 [Nice, France, northwestern Mediterranean Sea; no types known].— Israel synonyms: Planiliza aurata ( Risso, 1810) ; Liza aurata ( Risso, 1810) .—Revisions: Durand & Borsa (2015: 268).—Illustration: Ben-Tuvia in Whitehead et al. (1986: 1199, fig.).

Status in Israel. First record from Israeli freshwater was by Yashouv & Brener (1961); confirmed by Goren & Ortal (1999).—Israel material: HUJ.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Israel: Mediterranean watersheds.—Distribution in River Basin: 1- Western Basin, 2-Dead Sea Basin.—General distribution: Western Baltic Sea; North Sea; Mediterranean Sea; Sea of Marmara; Black Sea; Sea of Azov; Eastern Atlantic: Scotland south to Senegal, including Azores, Madeira, Canary Islands and Cape Verde Islands (introduced elsewhere).—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant, 438- Jordan River.—Habitat: This species is pelagic, near shore, sometimes in lagoons and estuaries, rarely in freshwaters. Among the Mugilidae recorded from freshwaters, this is the least tolerant of freshwaters. It spawns at sea. Freshwater, brackish, marine.

Economic importance. Commercially important.

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

Remarks. It was stocked accidentally in the freshwater system.