Revised 14 Nov. 2025
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Lyconodes Gilchrist 1922 -oides, Neo-Latin from eī́dos (εἶδος), form or shape: Lyconus, a related genus (now in Lyconidae) from the South Atlantic
Lyconodes argenteus Gilchrist 1922 Latin for silvery, referring to “marked silvery sheen, especially on the abdominal region”
Merluccius Rafinesque 1810 presumably tautonymous with Gadus merluccius Linnaeus 1758 (although Rafinesque misspelled the specific name with one “c”); see species for etymology
Merluccius albidus (Mitchill 1818) Latin for whitish, referring to its “white and silvery complexion” [preoccupied by Gadus albidus Gmelin 1789 (=Phycis blennoides in Gadidae), but perhaps can be retained based on prevailing usage]
Merluccius australis (Hutton 1872) Latin for southern, referring to Cook Strait, New Zealand, type locality
Merluccius bilinearis (Mitchill 1814) bi-, from bis (L.), twice; linearis (L.), linear, referring to its “dark and double” lateral line (i.e., visual lines formed by the top and bottom margins of the large scales along its prominent lateral line)
Merluccius capensis Castelnau 1861 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Cape Colony (or Cape of Good Hope), referring to type locality in what is now South Africa
Merluccius gayi (Guichenot 1848) in honor of Claude (Claudio in Spanish texts) Gay (1800–1873), one of the first naturalists to explore Chile (where this species occurs), and who edited the volume in which the description was published
Merluccius gayi peruanus Ginsburg 1954 -anus (L.), belonging to: Peru, proposed as a Peruvian subspecies of the otherwise Chilean nominate form
Merluccius hubbsi Marini 1933 in honor of Carl L. Hubbs (1894–1979), “one of the most distinguished” (translation) American ichthyologists; Hubbs supplied type material from the University of Michigan’s Division of Fishes
Merluccius merluccius (Linnaeus 1758) etymology uncertain; historically known as merle, merlan and regional variations thereof in Renaissance Europe, presumably from merula (L.), blackbird, possibly referring to its brownish-gray color, similar to that of the female blackbird, while others say name is derived from mare (L.), sea, and lucius (L.), pike, “sea pike,” referring to its superficial resemblance to Esox lucius
Merluccius merluccius smiridus Rafinesque 1810 Latinization of smiriddu, local name for this hake along the coasts of Sicily, type locality
Merluccius paradoxus Franca 1960 Latin for strange or contrary to expectation, allusion not explained; perhaps referring to the existence of two nearly identical hakes, M. capensis and this species (proposed as a subspecies of capensis), with an overlapping distribution along the coast of southern Africa
Merluccius polli Cadenat 1950 in honor of Belgian ichthyologist Max Poll (1908–1991), who collected holotype
Merluccius polli cadenati Doutre 1960 in honor of French ichthyologist Jean Cadenat (1908–1992), Director, Marine Biological Section of the Institut Français d’Afrique Noire (Gorée, Senegal), who studied the biology of Merluccius in Senegal and described the nominate species in 1950
Merluccius polylepis Ginsburg 1954 polý (πολύ), many; lepίs (λεπίς), scale, having more scale rows along lateral line (182–186) compared with M. hubbsi (138–144)
Merluccius productus (Ayres 1855) Latin for lengthened or prolonged, allusion not explained, perhaps referring to its elongate, tapering body and/or to its head, “somewhat pointed anteriorly” (but it is no more “drawn out” than any other hakes known at the time)
Merluccius senegalensis Cadenat 1950 -ensis, Latin suffix denoting place: Dakar, Coast of Senegal, type locality