Striped red mullet

Known scientifically as Mullus surmuletus, the striped red mullet is a fish belonging to the Mullidae family and the order Perciformes. It is very abundant and highly valued in Menorca. Its most distinctive feature is the presence of two barbels on the underside of its head, which it uses to detect prey while searching through the sand.

The striped red mullet, unlike the red mullet or mud red mullet (Mullus barbatus), has a sloping forehead and two dark horizontal bands on its first dorsal fin. The mud red mullet lives on sandy or muddy seabeds at depths of up to 300 metres and can grow to 30 centimetres. The striped red mullet, by contrast, inhabits patches of sand among rocky seabeds, at depths of up to 80 metres, and can reach a length of 35 centimetres.

Both species are commercially important and are commonly caught by bottom trawlers and fishermen using nets. At fish markets, red mullet have a reddish colour due to the loss of scales. Underwater, however, they have a brownish appearance.