Esox
| Esox Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Northern pike (E. lucius) | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Genus: | Esox |
| Type species | |
| Esox lucius | |
Esox is a genus of fresh water fish. It is the only living genus in the family Esocidae. The oldest known example of an Esox is Esox tiemani.[2] It dates to about 62 million years ago and was found in Alberta, Canada.[2] They are commonly called pike and pickerel. They are found in the northern parts of North America, Europe and Asia.[3] One species, Esox lucius, the Northern pike, is found in both Europe and North America.[3] Esox are large predatory fish with a long cylindrical body. They have a green color (various shades) with yellow eyes. Pike and pickerel share a forked tail fin and a large pointed head.[3] Their dorsal and anal fins are located far back on their bodies.[3] All species have very sharp teeth.
Species
[change | change source]Currently there are five species in the Esox genus. The study of this family is not complete. There are several known hybrids between species which occur naturally.[4] The five species are:
- Esox lucius - The northern pike; found in both Eurasia and North America.[5]
- Esox reichertii - The Amur pike; found in the Amur river in Asia.[5]
- Esox masquinongy - The Muskellunge; found in northern and eastern North America.[5]
- Esox niger - The Chain pickerel; native to the U.S. states of Georgia and North Carolina.[5]
- Esox americanus - The redfin pickerel; also found in Georgia and North Carolina.[5]
There is an extinct species called Esox tiemani.
Forage
[change | change source]All species of Esox are predatory feeders.[6] They eat other fish, small mammals and birds.[6] Pike will eat almost anything that doesn't eat them first.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2008). "Esocidae" in FishBase. December 2008 version.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Joseph S. Nelson, Fishes of the World (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2006), p. 205
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Lawrence M. Page; Brooks M. Burr, Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America North of Mexico (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011), p. 60
- ↑ Pike: Biology and Exploitation ed. John Craig (London: Chapman & Hall 1996), p. 2
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Fishes of the Middle Savannah River Basin: With Emphasis on the Savannah , ed. Barton C. Marcy (Athens, GA; London: University of Georgia Press, 2005), p. 241
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mark Everard, Britain's Freshwater Fishes (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013), p. 94
- ↑ Vin T. Sparano, The Complete Outdoors Encyclopedia (New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin, 2000), p. 482
Other websites
[change | change source]- University of Esox Archived 2014-06-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Northern Pike, Esox lucius
- Chain Pickerel Esox niger Archived 2014-07-02 at the Wayback Machine
- Redfin pickerel Archived 2013-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
- Amur pike in Russia
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