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Diamond-scaled Mullet

Ellochelon vaigiensis

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth0–5 m
  • Water temperature12–30 °C
  • Best monthsJuly, August, and October
  • How commonOccasional
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Photo credit: no rights reserved, uploaded by Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

About this species

The squaretail mullet, also known as the diamondscale mullet, is a species of grey mullet from the family Mugilidae. It is an Indo-Pacific species and is the only species in the monospecific genus Ellochelon.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Squaretail mullet”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 87 records
  • February: 84 records
  • March: 105 records
  • April: 126 records
  • May: 152 records
  • June: 152 records
  • July: 176 records
  • August: 168 records
  • September: 157 records
  • October: 161 records
  • November: 142 records
  • December: 105 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–5 m · Deepest record: 18 m

  • 0–10 m: 68 records
  • 10–20 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 12–30 °C

  • 10–12 °C: 1 records
  • 12–14 °C: 0 records
  • 14–16 °C: 0 records
  • 16–18 °C: 0 records
  • 18–20 °C: 1 records
  • 20–22 °C: 2 records
  • 22–24 °C: 7 records
  • 24–26 °C: 25 records
  • 26–28 °C: 70 records
  • 28–30 °C: 93 records

Names and classification

English
Diamond-scaled Mullet, Diamond-scale Mullet, Diamond Scale Mullet, Large-scaled Mullet, Large Scale Mullet, square-tail mullet, Squaretail Mullet, Yellowtail Mullet
Names in 6 more languages
Spanish
Lisa de cola cuadrada
French
Mulet à queue carrée, Mulet carrelé, Mulet mopiro
Japanese
Onibora, オニボラ, ムナグロボラ
Korean
넓적꼬리숭어, 넙적꼬리숭어
Thai
ปลากระบอกท่อนใต้, ปลากระบอกหูดำ
Simplified Chinese
黃鯔

Other scientific names: Chelon vaigiensis, Liza vaigensis, Liza vaigiensis, Mugil delicatus, Mugil macrolepidotus, Mugil melanochir, Mugil occidentalis, Mugil rossii, Mugil tegobuan, Mugil vaigiensis, Mugil ventricosus, Mugil waigiensis

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 783 open-data records from 1824 to 2023.
  • Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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