Urophycis regia
Spotted Hake
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Gadiformes (Cod, Hakes and others)
Phycidae (Phycid Hakes)
Urophycis
Urophycis regia (Spotted Hake)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting.
When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page.
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Characters
Moderately slender and fusiform; snout moderately blunt, projecting slightly beyond jaws; jaws subterminal, slightly oblique, extending beyond posterior margin of orbit; head 21%, predorsal length 23%, and pelvic fin 23% of TL; snout length 25%, upper jaw 49%, lower jaw 55%, and eye length 24% of head length; gill rakers 14 or 15, with 3 (rarely 2) on epibranch; pectoral fin bluntly pointed, not reaching anus, with 16 rays; first dorsal fin originating over pectoral fin base with 8 or 9 rays; second dorsal fin originating immediately behind first dorsal fin base with 46 to 51 rays; pelvic fin with 2 rays extending to origin of anal fin; anal fin with 43 to 49 rays; second dorsal fin and anal fin narrowly separated from caudal fin; caudal fin with slightly convex posterior margin; lateral line continuous; scales 85 to 97 from opercular flap to base of caudal fin and 9 to 12 from dorsal fin base to lateral line; vertebrae 46
Brown, darker dorsally than ventrally, with pores on head dark, first dorsal fin black with white margin, lateral line darker than body, and operculum with blotch
Distribution
Western North Atlantic from southern New England to the northeastern Gulf of Mexico
Habitat Associations
Near shore to 420 m, most common between 110 and 185 m
Estuaries (juveniles undergo part of their development there)
Biology
Crustaceans, squids, and fishes
410 mm TL
Found onshore, most common between 110 and 185 m. Feed on crustaceans, and possibly fish and squids. Juveniles spend part of their time in estuaries.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-09-16. Resilience: Medium (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: minor commercial.
References
Hildebrand and Schroeder 1928
Hildebrand and Cable 1938
Bigelow and Schroeder 1953b
Svetovidov 1962
Hoese and Moore 1977
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Cohen et al. 1990
Boschung 1992
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
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.
Langton, R.W. and R.E. Bowman (1980) Food of fifteen northwest Atlantic Gadiform fishes. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS SSRF-740, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Bowman, R.E., C.E. Stillwell, W.L. Michaels and M.D. Grosslein (2000) Food of northwest Atlantic fishes and two common species of squid. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE 155, 138 p.
Wigley, S.E., H.M. McBride and N.J. McHugh (2003) Length-weight relationships for 74 fish species collected during NEFSC research vessel bottom trawl surveys, 1992-99. NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-NE-171. 26 p.
Ocean Biogeographic Information System (2006) OBIS-extracted Depth Data. Harvested by E.Agbayani July 2006 at www.iobis.org.
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