Systematics of the grey mullets (Teleostei: Mugiliformes: Mugilidae): Molecular phylogenetic evidence challenges two centuries of morphology-based taxonomy

► The phylogeny of the Mugilidae family was inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences. ► The family comprises seven major lineages that radiated early from the ancestor to all current Mugilidae. ► All genera represented by two species or more except Cestraeus, turned out to be paraphyletic or polyphyletic. ► Several species with wide geographic distribution, including the cosmopolitan Mugil cephalus, comprise cryptic species.