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Glite Dictionary
Mugil cephalus

Mugil cephalus

9.9
A common silver fish with a flat head that lives in coastal waters around the world and is often fished
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Mugil cephalus
  • Fishermen along the Atlantic coast often target Mugil cephalus during the mullet run season.

Examples

  • Many cuisines feature dishes made from Mugil cephalus, also known as the flathead grey mullet.

  • Mugil cephalus is commonly found in estuaries and coastal waters around the world.

  • The Mugil cephalus is commonly found in estuaries.

  • In Florida, many fishermen target the Mugil cephalus during the summer.

  • Mugil cephalus is commonly found in estuaries and coastal waters around the world.

  • Fishermen along the Atlantic coast often target Mugil cephalus during the mullet run season.

  • Many cuisines feature dishes made from Mugil cephalus, also known as the flathead grey mullet.

Synonyms

striped mullet
vsMugil cephalus
  • US
7.8

A fish with dark horizontal stripes that lives in warm coastal waters and is often caught

is a widely distributed coastal species in warm waters, heavily fished in the eastern US
gray mullet
vsMugil cephalus
  • US
6.0

A fish with a long rounded body that lives in seas and rivers that people often eat

is the specific coastal warm water species widely fished, not any freshwater form

Surface Forms

Mugil cephalus singular
Mugil cephali plural

Morphology

Mugil + cephalus

This is a Latin scientific (binomial) name rather than a compositional English phrase: while 'Mugil' indicates the fish genus (so a learner might guess it refers to a fish), 'cephalus' is not an English word here and the species epithet does not transparently convey the common meaning. Taxonomic Latin names function as proper nouns and are not predictably interpretable by an average B1 learner from their constituent forms, so the expression is not compositional.

Etymology

Mugil cephalus comes from old words: Mugil is Latin for 'mullet' and cephalus comes from a Greek word for 'head' because this fish has a wide, flat head. So the name means 'mullet head', which helps you remember it is the flathead grey mullet.