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Flat-tail Mullet
Liza argentea (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825)
A 23 cm long Flat-tail Mullet caught by G. Forester in Audley Weir, New South Wales (AMS I.41222-002). View larger image.
A 61 mm standard length juvenile Flat-tail Mullet caught by ANGFA member M. Stanton at a depth of 0.5 m, Hawkesbury River near Sackville, New South Wales, June 2003. View larger image.
Over twenty species of mullet are known from Australian waters. Superficially they all look similar.
The Flat-tail Mullet can be separated from the other Australian species by the lack of an axillary process at the base of the pectoral fins and by the number of lateral line scales (35-38) and anal fin rays (10).
This species is light brown above, silver below and has dusky coloured dorsal and caudal fins. The eyes of live fish are purple with golden flecks, and the posterior region of the operculum is golden.
The Flat-tail Mullet grows to 30 cm in length.
Young fish are often found in coastal streams. Older fish live in estuaries and along sea beaches.
This species is endemic to Australia. It occurs in tropical and temperate waters from northern Queensland, around the south of the country and north to the central coast of Western Australia.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Allen, G.R. 1989. Freshwater Fishes of Australia. T.F.H. Publications. Pp. 240.
- Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine Fishes of Tropical Australia and South-east Asia. Western Australian Museum. Pp. 292.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Thomson. J.M. in McDowall, R.M. 1996. Freshwater Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Reed Books. Pp. 247.
