Merluccius australis

• Overview
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Overview

Family : Merluccid hakes ; Found at depths between 415 and 1000 m in New Zealand waters, and 62 to 800 m in South American waters. The Patagonian population feeds on southern blue whiting, whiptail, nototheniids and squids . The New Zealand population feeds mainly on fishes (especially gadoids), squids, euphausiids and benthic organisms . Adults probably migrate southward during the southern summer for feeding and return to the north in winter for spawning. Utilized as food fish and fishmeal .

Common Names

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Description

Family Merlucciidae

Distribution: Atlantic, eastern Pacific, Tasmania, and New Zealand. Dorsal fins 2, except Lyconodes with one. Second dorsal fin and anal fin with a posterior notch . Chin barbel lacking. Small cycloid scales . Teeth present on head of vomer. Spinous first principal dorsal ray . Mouth large and terminal ; long, pointed teeth in most species. A large V-shaped ridge appears on the upper side of the head. Pelvic fin rays 7-10. Branchiostegal rays 7. Pyloric caeca absent. Species of Merluccius are voracious predators inhabiting the continental shelf and upper slope . The three species of Macruronus live in large schools on the continental shelf in Subantarctic waters.The family Merlucciidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Gadiformes. It contains 4 genera and 18 species. It may be found in Marine environments and is primarily Marine. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Oligocene epoch of the Tertiary period. Etymology of this family name : Latin, mare, maris = sea + Latin lucius = pike

Habitat

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -5,000 meters (0 to -16,404 feet).Mean = -667.910 meters (-2,191.306 feet), Standard Deviation = 487.850 based on 6,508 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Biome: Saltwater . Benthopelagic.

Taxonomy

Ambiguous Synonyms

1. Merluccius gayi hubbsi (non Marini, 1933)

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Gadus australis Hutton, 1872
2. Merlangius australis (Hutton, 1872)
3. Merluccius australis (Hutton, 1872)
4. Merluccius australis subsp. polylepis Ginsburg, 1954
5. Merluccius gayi subsp. australis (Hutton, 1872)
6. Merluccius gayi subsp. polylepis Ginsburg, 1954
7. Merluccius polylepis Ginsburg, 1954

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 26-Aug-1994

Similar Species

Members of the genus Merluccius

There are approximately 44 species in this genus:

M. abidus · M. albidos · M. albidus (Offshore Hake) · Gadella maraldi · Gadella maraldi · M. angustimanus (Hake) · M. atlanticus · M. augustimarus · M. australis (Haddock) · M. australis polylepis · M. bilinearis (Atlantic Hake) · M. bilinearis eggs · M. bilineavis · M. bilnearis · M. capensis (Cape Hake) · M. capensis capensis · M. capensis paradoxus · M. gayi (Peruvian Hake) · M. gayi australis · M. gayi gayi (Chilean Hake) · M. gayi hubbsi · M. gayi peruanus (Hake) · M. gayi peruvianus · M. gayi polylepis · M. hernandezi (Cortez Hake) · M. hubbsi (Argentine Hake) · M. hubsi · M. hubsii · M. merluccius (Cornish Salmon) · M. merluccius cadenati · M. merluccius capensis · M. merluccius hubbsi · M. merluccius mediterraneous · M. merluccius paradoxus · M. merluccius polli · M. merluccius senegalensis · M. pacificus · M. paradoxus (Deep Water Hake) · M. patagonicus (Patagonian Hake) · M. polli (Benguela Hake) · M. productus (North Pacific Hake) · M. senegalensis (Black Hake) · M. verralis · M. bilinearis

Bibliography

• Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba (1990). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO
• Cohen, Daniel M., Tadashi Inada, Tomio Iwamoto, and Nadia Scialabba 1990. Gadiform Fishes of the World (Order Gadiformes): An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cods, Hakes, Grenadiers and other Gadiform Fishes Known to Date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis, no. 125, vol. 10. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy. x + 442. ISBN: 92-5-102890-7.
• Paulin, C., A. Stewart, C. Roberts and P. McMillan (1989). New Zealand fish: a complete guide. National Museum of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series No. 19. 279 p.
• Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen and J.E. Hanley (1989). Pisces. Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Zoological Catalogue of Australia, Vol. 7. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 665 p.
• Shiino, Sueo M. 1976. List of Common Names of Fishes of the World, Those Prevailing among English-speaking Nations. Science Report of Shima Marineland, no. 4. Shima Marineland. Kashikojima, Shima, Mie, Japan. 262.

More Info

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Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 5, 2007.
• FishBase
• FishBase 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 29, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 4 providers.
• MBLWHOI Library: Universal Biological Index and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 18, 2008.
• Smith-Vaniz, William F. (from FishBase).

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Bureau of Rural Sciences National commercial fisheries half-degree data set 2000-2002 (OBIS Australia)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Demersal and pelagic species from the Patagonian shelf (OBIS South America, SOUTHERN OCEAN SUB-NODE)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Fishes in the Argentine Sea from 1967 to the present time (OBIS South America, SOUTHERN OCEAN SUB-NODE)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: iziko South African Museum - Fish Collection
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: South Western Pacific Regional OBIS Data provider for the NIWA Marine Biodata Information System
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• OZCAM (Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums) Provider: Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2496377
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-22905
• Fishbase Species ID: 322
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13524313
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 164797
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 116534

Footnotes

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