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Goatfishes are tropical marine perciform fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
 of the family Mullidae. Seldom found in brackish waters, goatfish are most associated with the reef
Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
s of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, Indian
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
, and Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
s. The goatfish are sometimes called the red mullets as opposed to the Mugilidae, the grey mullets, though that name is usually reserved for the red mullet
Red mullet

The red mullets or surmullets are two species of Mullidae, Mullus barbatus and Mullus surmuletus, found in the Mediterranean Sea, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea....
s of the genus Mullus of the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
. Within the family are approximately six genera and 55 species.

Many species of goatfish are conspicuously coloured; however, they are not popular in aquaria
Aquaria

Aquaria may refer to:*The plural of Aquarium*Aquaria , a 2D sidescrolling computer game*Aquaria , a symphonic power metal band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...
.






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Goatfishes are tropical marine perciform fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
 of the family Mullidae. Seldom found in brackish waters, goatfish are most associated with the reef
Reef

In nautical terminology, a reef is a Rock , bar , or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water .Many reefs result from abiotic processes?deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes?but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes do...
s of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres . It covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface....
, Indian
Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean ....
, and Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portugal explorer Ferdinand Magellan....
s. The goatfish are sometimes called the red mullets as opposed to the Mugilidae, the grey mullets, though that name is usually reserved for the red mullet
Red mullet

The red mullets or surmullets are two species of Mullidae, Mullus barbatus and Mullus surmuletus, found in the Mediterranean Sea, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea....
s of the genus Mullus of the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea or Ocean off the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia....
. Within the family are approximately six genera and 55 species.

Many species of goatfish are conspicuously coloured; however, they are not popular in aquaria
Aquaria

Aquaria may refer to:*The plural of Aquarium*Aquaria , a 2D sidescrolling computer game*Aquaria , a symphonic power metal band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil...
. Rather, goatfish are valued food fish in many countries. The largest species, the dash-and-dot goatfish
Dash-and-dot goatfish

The dash-and-dot goatfish, Parupeneus barberinus, is a goatfish of the family Mullidae....
 (Parupeneus barberinus) grows to 55 centimetres in length; most species are less than half this size. Their bodies are deep and elongate with forked tail fins and widely separated dorsal fins.

Perhaps the goatfish's unpopularity among fishkeepers can be attributed to its feeding habits: Goatfish are tireless benthic feeders, using a pair of long chemosensory barbel
Barbel (anatomy)

A barbel on a fish is a slender, whiskerlike tactile organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, sturgeon, and some species of shark....
s ("whiskers") protruding from their chins to rifle through the sediments in search of a meal. Like goats, they seek anything edible; worm
Worm

A worm is a common name given to a diverse group of invertebrate animals that have a long, soft body and no legs. There are hundreds of thousands of species of worms, 2,700 of these are earthworms....
s, crustaceans, molluscs and other small invertebrate
Invertebrate

An invertebrate is an animal lacking a vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal species ? all animals except those in the Chordate subphylum vertebrate ....
s are staples.

By day, many goatfish will form large inactive (non-feeding) schools: these aggregates may contain both conspecifics and heterospecifics. For example, the yellowfin goatfish (Mulloidichthys vanicolensis) of the Red Sea
Red Sea

The Red Sea is a salt water inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb sound and the Gulf of Aden....
 and Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
 is often seen congregating with blue-striped snappers (Lutjanus kasmira). With such mixed company, the yellowfins will actually change their coloration to match that of the snappers.

By night the schools disperse and individual goatfish head their separate ways to loot the sands. Other nocturnal feeders will shadow the active goatfish, waiting patiently for any overlooked morsels. Goatfish stay within the shallows, going no deeper than about 110 metres. Some species, such as the freckled goatfish (Upeneus tragula) of East Africa
East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN subregion, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, have been known to enter estuaries
Estuary

An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
 and river
River

A river is a natural stream of water, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, or another stream. In some cases a river flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water....
s, although not to any great extent.

All goatfish have the ability to change their coloration depending on their current activity. One notable example, the diurnal goldsaddle goatfish
Goldsaddle goatfish

Also known as the Yellowsaddle goatfish....
 (Parupeneus cyclostomus) will change from a lemon-yellow to a pale cream whilst feeding. Diurnal species also tend to be solitary, but will school as juveniles.

Goatfish are pelagic spawners; that is, they release many buoyant eggs into the water which become part of the plankton
Plankton

Plankton consist of any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. Plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than their Phylogenetics or taxonomy classification....
. The eggs float freely with the currents until hatching. The postlarva floats in surface waters until it reaches around 5 or 6 centimetres in length, when it takes on the adult, bottom-feeding, lifestyle.

Species

FishBase lists 67 species in six genera:
  • Genus Mulloidichthys
    • Mexican goatfish, Mulloidichthys dentatus (Gill
      Theodore Gill

      Theodore Nicholas Gill was an United States ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian.Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history....
      , 1862)      .
    • Yellowstripe goatfish, Mulloidichthys flavolineatus (Lacépède, 1801).
    • Yellow goatfish
      Yellow goatfish

      The Yellow Goatfish, Mulloidichthys martinicus, is a white to pale pink fish with a yellow stripe from the eye to the caudal peduncle....
      , Mulloidichthys martinicus (Cuvier
      Georges Cuvier

      Baron Georges L?opold Chr?tien Fr?d?ric Dagobert Cuvier was a France natural history and zoology. He was the elder brother of Fr?d?ric Cuvier , also a naturalist....
      , 1829)      .
    • Mimic goatfish, Mulloidichthys mimicus Randall & Guézé, 1980.
    • Orange goatfish, Mulloidichthys pfluegeri (Steindachner
      Franz Steindachner

      Franz Steindachner was an Austrian zoologist.Being interested in natural history, Steindachner took up the study of fossil fishes on the recommendation of his friend Eduard Suess....
      , 1900)      .
    • Yellowfin goatfish, Mulloidichthys vanicolensis (Valenciennes
      Achille Valenciennes

      Achille Valenciennes was a France zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology....
      , 1831)      .
  • Genus Mullus
    • Argentine goatfish, Mullus argentinae Hubbs & Marini, 1933.
    • Red goatfish, Mullus auratus Jordan
      David Starr Jordan

      David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenics, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
       & Gilbert, 1882      .
    • The red mullet
      Red mullet

      The red mullets or surmullets are two species of Mullidae, Mullus barbatus and Mullus surmuletus, found in the Mediterranean Sea, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea....
      s
      • Mullus barbatus barbatus Linnaeus
        Carolus Linnaeus

        Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
        , 1758        .
      • Mullus barbatus ponticus Essipov, 1927.
      • Striped red mullet, Mullus surmuletus
        Mullus surmuletus

        Mullus surmuletus, the striped red mullet, is a species of Mullidae found in the Mediterranean Sea, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea....
         Linnaeus
        Carolus Linnaeus

        Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
        , 1758        .
  • Genus Parupeneus
    • Bicolor goatfish, Parupeneus barberinoides
      Parupeneus barberinoides

      Parupeneus barberinoides is a Goatfish from the Western Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 30cm in length....
       (Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1852)      .
    • Dash-and-dot goatfish
      Dash-and-dot goatfish

      The dash-and-dot goatfish, Parupeneus barberinus, is a goatfish of the family Mullidae....
      , Parupeneus barberinus (Lacépède, 1801).
    • Pointed goatfish, Parupeneus biaculeatus (Richardson
      John Richardson (naturalist)

      Sir John Richardson was a Scotland Royal Navy surgery, natural history and arctic explorer.Richardson was born at Dumfries. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and became a surgeon in the navy in 1807....
      , 1846)      .
    • Yellow-threaded goatfish, Parupeneus chrysonemus (Jordan
      David Starr Jordan

      David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenics, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
       & Evermann, 1903)      .
    • Yellow striped goatfish, Parupeneus chrysopleuron (Temminck
      Coenraad Jacob Temminck

      Coenraad Jacob Temminck was a Netherlands aristocrat and zoologist.Temminck was the first director of the National Natural History Museum at Leiden from 1820 until his death....
       & Schlegel
      Hermann Schlegel

      Hermann Schlegel was a Germany ornithologist....
      , 1843)      .
    • Whitesaddle goatfish, Parupeneus ciliatus (Lacépède, 1802).
    • Parupeneus crassilabris (Valenciennes
      Achille Valenciennes

      Achille Valenciennes was a France zoologist.Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. Valenciennes' study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasitology....
      , 1831)      .
    • Goldsaddle goatfish
      Goldsaddle goatfish

      Also known as the Yellowsaddle goatfish....
      , Parupeneus cyclostomus (Lacépède, 1801).
    • Red Sea goatfish, Parupeneus forsskali (Fourmanoir & Guézé, 1976).
    • Cinnabar goatfish, Parupeneus heptacanthus (Lacépède, 1802).
    • Indian goatfish, Parupeneus indicus (Shaw
      George Shaw

      George Shaw was an England botanist and zoologist.Shaw was born at Bierton, Buckinghamshire and was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, receiving his M.A....
      , 1803)      .
    • Parupeneus insularis Randall & Myers, 2002.
    • Parupeneus jansenii (Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1856)      .
    • Parupeneus louise Randall, 2004.
    • Longbarbel goatfish, Parupeneus macronemus (Lacépède, 1801).
    • Pearly goatfish, Parupeneus margaritatus Randall & Guézé, 1984.
    • Parupeneus moffitti Randall & Myers, 1993.
    • Manybar goatfish, Parupeneus multifasciatus
      Parupeneus multifasciatus

      Parupeneus multifasciatus is a Goatfish from the Pacific Ocean. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 35cm in length....
       (Quoy
      Jean René Constant Quoy

      Jean Ren? Constant Quoy was a France zoologist.Along with Joseph Paul Gaimard he served as naturalist aboard La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey during its circumnavigation of the globe , and the French ship Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville....
       & Gaimard
      Joseph Paul Gaimard

      Joseph Paul Gaimard was a France natural history.Along with Jean Ren? Constant Quoy he served as naturalist aboard the ships La Coquille under Louis Isidore Duperrey, and L'Astrolabe under the command of Jules Dumont d'Urville between 1826 and 1829....
      , 1824)      .
    • Parupeneus orientalis (Fowler, 1933).
    • Sidespot goatfish, Parupeneus pleurostigma (Bennett, 1831).
    • Parupeneus porphyreus (Jenkins, 1903).
    • Parupeneus posteli Fourmanoir & Guézé, 1967.
    • Parupeneus procerigena Kim & Amaoka, 2001.
    • Rosy goatfish, Parupeneus rubescens (Lacépède, 1801).
    • Black-spot goatfish
      Black-spot goatfish

      The black-spot goatfish, Parupeneus signatus, is a goatfish of the family Mullidae, found in the western Pacific ocean, from north east New Zealand to New Guinea, in shallow waters....
      , Parupeneus signatus (Günther, 1867).
    • Blackspot goatfish, Parupeneus spilurus (Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1854)      .
    • Doublebar goatfish, Parupeneus trifasciatus (Lacépède, 1801).
  • Genus Pseudupeneus
    • Bigscale goatfish, Pseudupeneus grandisquamis (Gill
      Theodore Gill

      Theodore Nicholas Gill was an United States ichthyologist, mammalogist, malacologist and librarian.Born and educated in New York City under private tutors, Gill early showed interest in natural history....
      , 1863)      .
    • Spotted goatfish, Pseudupeneus maculatus (Bloch
      Marcus Elieser Bloch

      Marcus Elieser Bloch was a Germany medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologys of the 18th century....
      , 1793)      .
    • West African goatfish, Pseudupeneus prayensis (Cuvier
      Georges Cuvier

      Baron Georges L?opold Chr?tien Fr?d?ric Dagobert Cuvier was a France natural history and zoology. He was the elder brother of Fr?d?ric Cuvier , also a naturalist....
      , 1829)      .
  • Genus Upeneichthys
    • Blue-lined goatfish
      Blue-lined goatfish

      The blue-lined goatfish or red mullet, Upeneichthys lineatus, is a goatfish of the family Mullidae, found off eastern Australia and around New Zealand at depths of between 5 and 100 m....
      , Upeneichthys lineatus (Bloch
      Marcus Elieser Bloch

      Marcus Elieser Bloch was a Germany medical doctor and naturalist. He is generally considered one of the most important ichthyologys of the 18th century....
       & Schneider
      Johann Gottlob Schneider

      Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider was a German Empire classicist and natural history.Schneider was born at Koilmen in Saxony. In 1774, on the recommendation of Christian Gottlob Heine, he became secretary to the famous Strasbourg scholar Richard Fran?ois Brunck, and in 1811 became professor of ancient languages and eloquence at Breslau...
      , 1801)      .
    • Upeneichthys stotti Platell, Potter & Clarke, 1998.
    • Southern goatfish, Upeneichthys vlamingii (Cuvier
      Georges Cuvier

      Baron Georges L?opold Chr?tien Fr?d?ric Dagobert Cuvier was a France natural history and zoology. He was the elder brother of Fr?d?ric Cuvier , also a naturalist....
      , 1829)      .
  • Genus Upeneus
    • Band-tail goatfish, Upeneus arge Jordan
      David Starr Jordan

      David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenics, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
       & Evermann, 1903      .
    • Asymmetrical goatfish, Upeneus asymmetricus Lachner, 1954.
    • Upeneus australiae Kim & Nakaya, 2002.
    • Upeneus crosnieri Fourmanoir & Guézé, 1967.
    • Upeneus davidaromi Golani, 2001.
    • Gilded goatfish, Upeneus doriae (Günther, 1869).
    • Upeneus filifer (Ogilby
      William Ogilby

      William Ogilby was an Ireland barrister and natural history.Ogilby was honorary secretary of the Zoological Society of London from 1839 to 1846....
      , 1910)      .
    • Upeneus francisi Randall & Guézé, 1992.
    • Upeneus guttatus (Day, 1868).
    • Bensasi goatfish, Upeneus japonicus (Houttuyn
      Martinus Houttuyn

      Maarten Houttuyn or Houttuijn , Latin as Martinus Houttuyn, was a Netherlands natural history.Houttuyn was born in Hoorn, studied medicine in Leiden and moved to Amsterdam in 1753....
      , 1782)      .
    • Dark-barred goatfish, Upeneus luzonius Jordan
      David Starr Jordan

      David Starr Jordan, Ph.D., LL.D. was a leading eugenics, ichthyologist , educator and peace activist. He was president of Indiana University and Stanford University....
       & Seale, 1907      .
    • Upeneus mascareinsis Fourmanoir & Guézé, 1967.
    • Goldband goatfish, Upeneus moluccensis (Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1855)      .
    • Upeneus mouthami Randall & Kulbicki, 2006.
    • Dwarf goatfish, Upeneus parvus Poey
      Felipe Poey

      Felipe Poey y Aloy was a Cuban zoologist....
      , 1852      .
    • Por's goatfish, Upeneus pori Ben-Tuvia & Golani, 1989.
    • Upeneus quadrilineatus Cheng & Wang, 1963.
    • Upeneus subvittatus (Temminck
      Coenraad Jacob Temminck

      Coenraad Jacob Temminck was a Netherlands aristocrat and zoologist.Temminck was the first director of the National Natural History Museum at Leiden from 1820 until his death....
       & Schlegel
      Hermann Schlegel

      Hermann Schlegel was a Germany ornithologist....
      , 1843)      .
    • Sulphur goatfish, Upeneus sulphureus Cuvier
      Georges Cuvier

      Baron Georges L?opold Chr?tien Fr?d?ric Dagobert Cuvier was a France natural history and zoology. He was the elder brother of Fr?d?ric Cuvier , also a naturalist....
      , 1829      .
    • Ochre-banded goatfish, Upeneus sundaicus (Bleeker
      Pieter Bleeker

      Pieter Bleeker was a Netherlands medical doctor and ichthyology, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia.He was employed as a medical officer in the Dutch East Indian Army from 1842 to 1860, stationed in Indonesia....
      , 1855)      .
    • Finstripe goatfish, Upeneus taeniopterus Cuvier
      Georges Cuvier

      Baron Georges L?opold Chr?tien Fr?d?ric Dagobert Cuvier was a France natural history and zoology. He was the elder brother of Fr?d?ric Cuvier , also a naturalist....
      , 1829      .
    • Freckled goatfish, Upeneus tragula Richardson
      John Richardson (naturalist)

      Sir John Richardson was a Scotland Royal Navy surgery, natural history and arctic explorer.Richardson was born at Dumfries. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, and became a surgeon in the navy in 1807....
      , 1846      .
    • Yellowstriped goatfish, Upeneus vittatus (Forsskål
      Peter Forsskål

      Peter Forssk?l, sometimes spelled Pehr Forssk?l, Peter Forskaol, Petrus Forsk?l or Pehr Forssk?hl, was a Sweden exploration, orientalist and natural history....
      , 1775)      .
    • Upeneus xanthogrammus Gilbert, 1892.