Species: Urophycis cirrata, Gulf Hake

Urophycis cirrata (Goode & Bean, 1896)

Gulf Hake

Body soft, elongate; tail base narrow; no V shaped ridge on top of head; eye small, about 1/5 of head length; gill openings wide, extending above pectoral fins; mouth large, extends to under center of eye or further back, overhung by snout; chin barbel short; well developed patch of teeth on front of roof of mouth; 3 (rarely 2) upper gill rakers; fins without spines; 2 dorsal fins, 1st short based and triangular, 9-10 rays, the first ray not elongated, second dorsal long based, with straight edge, 66 rays; 1 anal fin, long based, without an indentation on edge, 57 rays; pelvic fins under end of opercle, bases well separated, with 2 rays forming long feelers that don't reach past the center of the anal fin; tail fin separate from dorsal and anal fins, well developed, rounded; pectoral fin not reaching beyond anal fin origin; lateral line system on head with pores; scales round, overlapping, not set at right angles, ~93 along lateral line, 6-9 between dorsal fin origin and lateral line; lateral line complete.

Brownish, belly white; a diffuse blotch on operculum; no dark spots on head; no black blotch or white margin on 1st dorsal fin.

Reaches 66 cm.

On and above mud bottoms.

Depth range: 27-1104 m, usually 360-470 m.

E Florida and the Gulf of Mexico; Venezuela.