Red hake

Red hake
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Gadiformes Family: Phycidae Genus: Urophycis Species: U. chuss
Binomial name
Urophycis chuss (Walbaum, 1792)

The red hake or squirrel hake, Urophycis chuss, is a phycid hake of the genus Urophycis, found in the northwest Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina to southern Nova Scotia, at depths of between 10 and 500 m. It grows to about 30 inches (75 cm) and 7 lb (3.2 kg). Their coloration is red to olive-brown or even black above, the sides are tinted yellow, and the belly is white. In this genus, the pelvic fins are long and filamentous, containing tactile and taste sensors that are used to search for food in their mud and silt habitat. They are caught commercially, but not considered a prized food fish due to having quite soft flesh.

References

• "Urophycis chuss". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. April 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.