---
title: Mojarra (Gerreidae)
scientific_name: Gerreidae
common_name: Mojarra
rank: Family
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-08T12:52:19.569Z
tags: Mojarra, Gerreidae, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/mojarra
---

# Mojarra (*Gerreidae*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Family
- **Scientific name:** Gerreidae
- **Body shape:** Oval - Egg-shaped body, deeper than it is thick - damselfishes, surgeonfishes.
- **Species listed here:** 3

## How to recognise this group

- oval, laterally compressed body
- silvery body colour
- deeply forked tail fin
- highly protusible mouth, extended downwards like a tube when feeding
- often in schools, sifting sand or mud over the bottom

Mojarras (Gerreidae) are silvery fish with strongly laterally compressed bodies and deeply forked caudal fins. A distinguishing feature is their highly protusible mouth, which can be extended downwards into a tube. Most species display a series of faint vertical bars or dark spots along their flanks. Red Sea species typically grow to 15-30 cm (6-12 in), though some individuals can reach over 40 cm (16 in). The family name Gerreidae derives from the Greek 'gerres', referring to a wickerwork basket, alluding to their scoop-like mouth.

They inhabit shallow coastal waters, typically over sand flats, seagrass beds, or soft bottoms adjacent to reefs, from the intertidal zone down to 50 metres (164 ft). Mojarras feed by sifting through sand and mud with their extended jaws, consuming small benthic invertebrates. They are often encountered in schools, slowly moving over the substrate.


## Species (3)

- [Blacktip Mojarra (Gerres oyena)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/mojarra/blacktip-mojarra)
- [Longsnout Mojarra (Gerres longirostris)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/mojarra/longsnout-mojarra)
- [Oblong Mojarra (Gerres oblongus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/mojarra/oblong-mojarra)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/mojarra)*
*Updated: August 8, 2026*