Red mullet
Encyclopedia
The red mullets or surmullets are two species of goatfish, Mullus barbatus
and Mullus surmuletus
, found in the Mediterranean Sea
, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea
. Both "red mullet" and "surmullet" can also refer to the Mullidae in general.
Though they can easily be distinguished—M. surmuletus has a striped first dorsal fin
—their common names overlap in many of the languages of the region. In English, M. surmuletus is sometimes called the striped red mullet.
They are both favored delicacies in the Mediterranean, and in antiquity were "one of the most famous and valued fish". They are very similar, and cooked in the same ways. M. surmuletus is perhaps somewhat more prized. The ancient Romans reared them in ponds where they were attended and caressed by their owners, and taught to come to be fed at the sound of the voice or bell of the keeper. Specimens were sometimes sold for their weight in silver. Pliny
cites a case in which a large sum was paid for a single fish, and an extraordinary expenditure of time was lavished upon these slow-learning pets. Juvenal
and other satirists descanted upon the height to which the pursuit of this luxury was carried as a type of extravagance.
Despite the English name "red mullet", these fishes of the goatfish family Mullidae are not closely related to many other species called "mullet
", which are members of the grey mullet family Mugilidae
.
The word "surmullet" comes from the French, and ultimately probably from a Germanic root "sor" 'reddish brown'.
Mullus barbatus
Mullus barbatus is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, east North Atlantic Ocean from Scandinavia to Senegal, and the Black Sea....
and Mullus surmuletus
Mullus surmuletus
Mullus surmuletus, the striped red mullet, is a species of goatfish found in the Mediterranean Sea, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea....
, found in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, east North Atlantic Ocean, and the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. Both "red mullet" and "surmullet" can also refer to the Mullidae in general.
Though they can easily be distinguished—M. surmuletus has a striped first dorsal fin
Dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...
—their common names overlap in many of the languages of the region. In English, M. surmuletus is sometimes called the striped red mullet.
They are both favored delicacies in the Mediterranean, and in antiquity were "one of the most famous and valued fish". They are very similar, and cooked in the same ways. M. surmuletus is perhaps somewhat more prized. The ancient Romans reared them in ponds where they were attended and caressed by their owners, and taught to come to be fed at the sound of the voice or bell of the keeper. Specimens were sometimes sold for their weight in silver. Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
cites a case in which a large sum was paid for a single fish, and an extraordinary expenditure of time was lavished upon these slow-learning pets. Juvenal
Juvenal
The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a...
and other satirists descanted upon the height to which the pursuit of this luxury was carried as a type of extravagance.
Despite the English name "red mullet", these fishes of the goatfish family Mullidae are not closely related to many other species called "mullet
Mullet (fish)
The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...
", which are members of the grey mullet family Mugilidae
Mullet (fish)
The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...
.
The word "surmullet" comes from the French, and ultimately probably from a Germanic root "sor" 'reddish brown'.
External links
- James Grout: The Red Mullet and Rome, part of the Encyclopædia Romana