Biology:South African mullet
| South African mullet | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Mugiliformes |
| Family: | Mugilidae |
| Genus: | Chelon |
| Species: | C. richardsonii
|
| Binomial name | |
| Chelon richardsonii (A. Smith, 1846)
| |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
The South African mullet (Chelon richardsonii), also called a harder mullet or simply harder, is a species of mullet. It is found in South Africa n coastal waters from Walvis Bay (Namibia) to KwaZulu-Natal, and grows to a maximum length of 40.5 cm.[2] The person the specific name honours was not recorded by Andrew Smith when he described this species but it is most likely to be John Richardson (1787-1865), the Scottish naturalist, surgeon and Arctic explorer.[3]
It is also found inland in the waters of the Olifants River (Western Cape).[4]
Local delicacy in South Africa
Mullet fish caught in the sea and estuaries of the West Coast region are processed by salting and air-drying into bokkoms by small local factories around Velddrif and Laaiplek.
See also
- The common name "harder mullet" in Germany refers to the flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus.[5]
- The USS Harder (SS-257), a World War II era naval ship that was named after the fish.
References
- ↑ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron; van der Laan, Richard, eds. "Mugil richardsonii". California Academy of Sciences. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatget.asp?spid=33595.
- ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2006). "Liza richardsonii" in FishBase. May 2006 version.
- ↑ "Mugiliformes". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. 4 June 2018. http://www.etyfish.org/mugiliformes/.
- ↑ The Olifants River harder fishery (Lisa richardsoni)
- ↑ Harder common name
Wikidata ☰ Q3235259 entry
 |  |
