Merluccius hubbsi, Argentine hake : fisheries, gamefish
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Merluccius hubbsi Marini, 1933

Argentine hake
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Merluccius hubbsi   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Merluccius hubbsi (Argentine hake)
Merluccius hubbsi
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Common names from other countries

Merlu d'Argentine, Merluza Argentina, Мерлуза аргентинская, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Merlucciidae (Merluccid hakes)
Etymology: Merluccius: Latin, mar, maris = the sea + Latin, lucius = pike (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Professor Carl Levitt (Leavitt) Hubbs (1894–1979) was a giant of American ichthyology. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 50 - 800 m (Ref. 9715), usually 100 - 200 m (Ref. 1371). Temperate; 20°S - 56°S, 69°W - 40°W (Ref. 58452)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Southwest Atlantic: off southern Brazil to Argentina and the Falkland Islands up to 54°S (Ref. 47377).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 30.4  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 95.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length :60 cm TL (female); max. reported age: 6 years (Ref. 83871)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 43 - 52; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 36 - 41; Vertebrae: 50 - 53. Gill rakers short and thick with blunt tips. Pectoral fins relatively short, not reaching level of anal fin origin. Color is silvery with golden luster on back, silvery white on belly (Ref. 1371).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: oval.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults inhabit continental shelf depths mainly between 100 and 200 m (Ref. 1371). Larger individuals feed on fish (anchovies, hake, nototheniids, myctophids and Southern blue whitings), squids and macrozooplankton (euphausiids and amphipods); smaller individuals feed on mysids and amphipods (Ref. 1371). Migrate inshore during spring and summer, and offshore into deep water wintering areas after spawning; also undertake diel vertical migrations (Ref. 1371). Sold fresh and frozen.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

An indeterminate batch spawner.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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 Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p. (Ref. 1371)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
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Eggs
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Distribution
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Anatomy
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Physiology
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Nutrients
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Genetics
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References

Tools

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Special reports

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | National databases | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 4.5 - 18, mean 6.3 °C (based on 214 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00479 (0.00402 - 0.00570), b=3.10 (3.05 - 3.15), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.0   ±0.61 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.13-0.19; tm=6).
Prior r = 0.42, 95% CL = 0.27 - 0.62, Based on 4 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (61 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 7.82 [4.21, 23.00] mg/100g; Iron = 0.186 [0.070, 0.427] mg/100g; Protein = 17 [16, 18] %; Omega3 = 0.243 [0.148, 0.389] g/100g; Selenium = 31.6 [14.8, 68.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 21.8 [6.1, 78.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.308 [0.217, 0.436] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.