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Morphological, morphometric, meristic and osteological evidence for two species of hake (Actinopterygii: Gadiformes: Merluccius ) in Argentinean waters
Author(s) -
Díaz de Astarloa J. M.,
Bezzi S. I.,
González Castro M.,
Mabragaña E.,
Hernández D.,
Delpiani S. M.,
Figueroa D. E.,
Cousseau M. B.,
Deli Antoni M. Y.,
Tringali L.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.02937.x
Subject(s) - actinopterygii , meristics , biology , hake , osteology , merluccius , fishery , merluccius merluccius , zoology , extant taxon , fish <actinopterygii> , evolutionary biology
Morphologically, both classic and landmark‐based morphometry and meristic analyses of 241 specimens of Merluccius , along with the re‐examination of six paratype specimens of Merluccius hubbsi , the holotype and three paratypes of Merluccius patagonicus and the syntype of Merluccius australis revealed the presence of only two species of Merluccius in Argentinean waters. Internal structures (hyomandibula, urohyal and sagitta otolith) of M. hubbsi were compared to those reported for M. patagonicus and were shown to have identical morphology. Type specimens of M. patagonicus showed a complete overlap in morphometric and meristic characters with M. hubbsi , whereas M. australis had a greater number of second dorsal and anal‐fin rays, and more lateral‐line scales. In addition, M. australis had a smaller eye and longer snout than M. hubbsi and M. patagonicus . The results indicate that there is no evidence for a third hake species in Argentinean waters. Merluccius patagonicus is a synonym of M. hubbsi .