Merlucciidae

The Merlucciidae, commonly called merluccid hakes /mərˈluːtʃɪd/,^[1][2][3] are a family of cod-like fish, containing two genera.^[4] They are the only member of the suborder Merlucciodei.^[5] They are native to cold water in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and typically are found at depths greater than 50 m (160 ft) in subtropical, temperate, sub-Arctic or sub-Antarctic regions.

Merlucciidae
Silver hake, Merluccius bilinearis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gadiformes
Suborder:	Merluccioidei
Family:	Merlucciidae T. N. Gill, 1884
Genera
Lyconodes Merluccius

These predatory fish are up to 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) in length, though most only reach about half that length, inhabiting the waters of the continental shelf and upper continental slope, where they feed on small fish such as lanternfishes. Several species are important commercial fish, for example the North Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) that is fished off western North America.

This family contained many more genera in the past.^[6] However, Steindachneria, Lyconus and Macruronus have been found to represent their own distinct clades more closely related to the rattails, and are thus now placed in their own families within the Macrouroidei. This leaves Merluccius and Lyconodes as the only remaining members of the Merlucciidae and Merluccioidei.^[4][7][8]