European hake

Merluccius merluccius is a slim-bodied fish with a large head and large jaws on which are set a number of large curved teeth, the lower jaw has two rows of teeth and the upper jaw has one row. The inside of the mouth and the branchial cavity are black. The body is at its widest just behind its head. It has two dorsal fins; the first is triangular in shape, high with a short base, while the second is long, nearly the same length as the anal fin, and both the second dorsal fin and the anal fan have a slightly convex profile. The first dorsal fin has a single spine and 7 to 10 fin rays; the second dorsal fin has 36 to 40 fin rays and the anal fin has 36 to 40 fin rays. The tips of the pectoral fins extend to the level of the origin of the abnal fin in young fish which are less than 20 cm in standard length but does not do so in adults. The caudal fin is well-developed and has a truncate margin. The lateral line is straight and darker than the background colour. It is blue-grey on the back, silvery on the flanks and whitish on the underside. They grow to 180 cm but this is rare and a more common larger size is 100cm.