You can sponsor this page

Merluccius australis (Hutton, 1872)

Southern hake
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Merluccius australis   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Merluccius australis (Southern hake)
Merluccius australis
Picture by SeaFIC

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).

Issue
Reported as M. polylepis in Patagonian waters.

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

Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 28 - 1000 m (Ref. 58489). Subtropical; 33°S - 59°S, 165°E - 66°W (Ref. 58452)

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

Circumglobal in the southern hemisphere (Ref. 7300). Two distinct groups. New Zealand population: Chatham Rise, Campbell Plateau and South Island northward to the East Cape. Patagonian population: Chiloé Island in the Pacific, southward around the southern tip of South America to the continental shelf to 59°S, and the slope north to 38°S in the Atlantic.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 74.7, range 75 - 85 cm
Max length : 155 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 58452); common length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. reported age: 30 years (Ref. 9072)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 48 - 57; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 40 - 46; Vertebrae: 53 - 58. Body more slender than other hakes. Pectoral fins long and slender, stripe reaching anal fin in young individuals but not in fish over 50 cm in SL. Gill rakers short and thick with blunt tips. Color is steel gray on back grading to silvery white ventrally.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

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 (Ref. 1371). Spawning takes place from August to September on the western coast of South Island, from September to November in the northern part of the Campbell Plateau, and between November and January on Chatham Rise (Ref. 58452). Utilized as food fish and fishmeal.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

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)


CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

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

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
References
References

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

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

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 6.2 - 13.3, mean 8.6 °C (based on 112 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00398 (0.00334 - 0.00475), b=3.10 (3.05 - 3.15), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  4.3   ±0.74 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 5.7 (4.2 - 10.7) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 15 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.07-0.19; tm=6-10; tmax=30).
Prior r = 0.24, 95% CL = 0.16 - 0.35, Based on 4 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (56 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High vulnerability (61 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 14.6 [5.9, 47.3] mg/100g; Iron = 0.536 [0.198, 1.332] mg/100g; Protein = 17.9 [16.7, 19.0] %; Omega3 = 0.148 [0.083, 0.263] g/100g; Selenium = 84.2 [34.5, 207.6] μg/100g; VitaminA = 11.5 [3.1, 40.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.314 [0.198, 0.493] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.