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 African coastal waters from Walvis Bay (Namibia) to KwaZulu-Natal, and grows to a maximum length of 40.5 cm (15.9 in).[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]