Striped red mullet (rock mullet)

With the scientific name Mullus surmuletus, it belongs to the Mullidae family, order Anguilliformes. It is a very abundant and highly valued fish in Menorca. Its most remarkable feature is the presence of a pair of barbels on the lower part of the head, which help it detect prey while it rummages through the sand.

The rock mullet, unlike the red mullet (Mullus barbatus), has a sloping forehead, and two dark horizontal bands can be seen on the first dorsal fin.

The red mullet lives on sandy or muddy bottoms down to 300 metres deep and can grow up to 30 cm. The rock mullet inhabits sandy patches found on rocky seabeds, down to 80 metres deep, and can reach a length of 35 cm.

Both species are commercially important and are usually caught by trawlers and net fishing boats. At the market, mullets appear red due to the loss of scales; underwater, however, they are brown.