The Argentine hake (''Merluccius hubbsi'') is a merluccid hake of the genus '' Merluccius'', found in the southwestern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, along the coast of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. This fish was described by an Argentine ichthyologist, Tomás Marini in 1933. It's very similar to '' Merluccius merluccius'' (European hake), and it can reach a length of 95 cm (but commonly 50–65 cm), and weigh up to 5 kg. It lives at depths from 100 to 200 m, and it feeds on crustaceans, squids and fish (anchovies and smaller hakes). It migrates southwards in spring and northwards in autumn. This fish is usually sold fresh and frozen as one of the main fishing exports of Argentina. Compared to other hake species, the Argentine hake has a higher longevity that can be linked to the species' high egg production. Sizes and life spans in these hakes also differ, with females growing and living longer than their male counter parts.Costa, Paulo Alberto Silva da, Adriana da Costa Braga, Juliana Monteiro da Silva Vieira, Raquel Rennó M. Martins, Ricardo Raphael Bastos de São-Clemente, and Bernardo Roxo Couto. 2018. “Age Estimation, Growth and Maturity of the Argentine Hake (Merluccius Hubbsi Marini, 1933) along the Northernmost Limit of Its Distribution in the South-Western Atlantic.” Marine Biology Research 14 (7): 728–38. doi:10.1080/17451000.2018.1502885. A new species of hake, '' Merluccius patagonicus'', was described for the south west Atlantic in 2003. This would be a third hake species in the area in addition to ''M. hubbsi'' and '' M. australis'' but some authorities consider this taxon to be a

synonymous A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

with ''M. hubbsi''. Abstract

References

Argentine hake Fish of Argentina Fish of the Western Atlantic Argentine hake {{Gadiformes-stub