Dajaus monticola
No common name
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Mugiliformes
Mugilidae (Mullets)
Dajaus
Dajaus monticola
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal.
Distribution
Western Atlantic: North Carolina to Texas in the USA south to Venezuela, including the West Indies.
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. pelagic-neritic. Found in: streams.
Biology
Inhabits pools and runs of small to medium rivers (Ref. 86798). Adults live in freshwater rivers and streams. Young are encountered occasionally in brackish waters. This is the only mullet that ascends far inland and spends all its adult life in freshwater (Ref. 11225). Tend to be few and solitary in upper streams, but form uneven schools in larger streams at lower elevations (Ref. 11225). Oviparous, eggs are pelagic and non-adhesive (Ref. 205). Usually spawn during the rainy season (Ref. 42119). Caught and consumed by local populations in some parts of central America.
Max length: 36.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawning period coincides with the rainy season in some areas where it occurs (Ref. 42119).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2019-01-15. Resilience: High (Fec = 128,827).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: subsistence fisheries.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Harrison, I.J. (1995) Mugilidae. Lisas. p. 1293-1298. In W. Fischer, F. Krupp, W. Schneider, C. Sommer, K.E. Carpenter and V. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para Identification de Especies para lo Fines de la Pesca. Pacifico Centro-Oriental. 3 Vols. FAO, Rome.
Cruz, G.A. (1987) Reproductive biology and feeding habits of cuyamel, Joturus pichardi and tepemechín, Agonostomus monticola (Pisces; Mugilidae) from Rio Plátano, Mosquitia, Honduras. Bull. Mar. Sci. 40(1):63-72.
Lim, P., F.J. Meunier, P. Keith and P.Y. Noël (2002) Atlas des poissons et des crustacés d'eau douce de la Martinique. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. Patrimoines Naturels, 51:120p.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (2011) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p.
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