Planiliza klunzingeri | UAE National Red List of Marine Species: Reef-building corals, cartilaginous fishes and select bony fishes
Taxa
Planiliza klunzingeri | (Day, 1888)
Location
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Vertebrates
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Fishes
Assessed taxon level
Species
Taxonomic Notes
The taxonomy of species in the Mugilidae family is complex and under revision (Durand and Borsa 2015).
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
In UAE waters, this species occurs on the Sea of Oman coast, but its presence on the Arabian Gulf coast is not yet confirmed, in part due to confusion with other mullet species. Globally, it is restricted to the northern Indian Ocean where it occurs from the Arabian Gulf to India (Randall 1995).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species inhabits inshore waters and ascends rivers for feeding (M. Almukhtar pers. comm. 2014). It consumes detritus, algae, and small benthic invertebrates (Carpenter et al. 1997). It spawns from December to May in the Arabian Gulf, with a peak in December and the mean length at 50% sexual maturity is 15.4 cm (Elahi et al. 2012). The maximum length is 20 cm (Carpenter et al. 1997), age at first reproduction is about 2 years (Hakimelahi et al. 2010) and maximum age is about 5 years (M. Al-Husaini pers. comm. 2014). When applying an age at first reproduction of 2 years and longevity of 5 years, its estimated generation length is 3.5 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction - age at first reproduction)/2.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Data deficient
Assessment status abreviation
DD
Assessment rationale/justification
This inshore and estuarine species is not yet confirmed to occur in UAE Arabian Gulf waters, but has been detected in mullet fisheries catch on the Sea of Oman coast. It rarely occurs in the catch, and its population status there is very poorly understood. In addition, the difficulty in distinguishing the mullet species taxonomically and easy confusion with other mullet species in the catch prevents an understanding of their status. It is a commercially important species elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf, and overfishing is considered to have contributed to declines. In addition, habitat loss due to cessation of rivers and coastal development in the Gulf has also caused declines. The status of population(s) outside the UAE is not well-understood, but declines have been recorded in Kuwait, Iran and Bahrain. Little is known on its distribution and population status in UAE waters; therefore, it is listed as Data Deficient. Improvements in fisheries monitoring are needed.
About the assessment
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Endemism
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
Threats listed in assessment
Major threats to this species in the Arabian Gulf include overfishing and habitat loss due to cessation of rivers and coastal development (E. Abdulqader, F. Kaymaram, J. Bishop, K. Al-Khalaf, M. Al-Husaini, M. Almukhtar, Q. Alghawzi, S. Alam, and S. Hartmann pers. comm. 2014).
Conservation Measures
Conservation measures:
Scientific Name
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Planiliza klunzingeri
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Mugiliformes
Mugilidae
Planiliza
