The white hake or mud hake (''Urophycis tenuis'') is a

phycid hake The Phycidae are a family of hakes in the order Gadiformes. They are native to the Atlantic Ocean, but the juveniles of some species enter estuaries. Sometimes this family is classified as the subfamily Phycinae of the cod family, Gadidae The ...

. It is found in the deeper waters in the northwest

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

Description

The species can grow to be up to 30 cm by the end of the first year, and 400 mm if male and 480 mm if female by the first reproduction. It grows to a maximum length of .

Distribution and habitat

The white hake is found in the northwest Atlantic from

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, at depths of about .

Reproduction and development

Spawning season for the white hake starts in late winter or early spring. It has been difficult to study the breeding habits of the white hake due to researchers’ issue with finding ripe females. Studies have found that larvae for the species occur in warm Slope Sea waters, but further along in development, the species can be found in continental shelf waters.

References

Phycidae Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fish described in 1814 Taxa named by Samuel L. Mitchill {{Gadiformes-stub