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Esox lucius

(Great Northern Pickerel)

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Alutiiq:

Qalru

Common Names in Bulgarian:

Shtuka

Common Names in Cree:

Cinosa, Cinoseo, Cinusèw, Tchinouchao

Common Names in Czech:

Štika Obecná

Common Names in Danish:

Almindelig Gedde, Gedde

Common Names in Dutch:

Snoek

Common Names in English:

American Pike, Common Pike, Great Lakes Pike, Great Northern Pickerel, Great Northern Pike, Jack, Jackfish, Northern Pearleye, Northern Pike, Pickerel, Pike, Snake, Wolf

Common Names in Finnish:

Hauki

Common Names in French:

Bec, Bec De Canard, Becquet, Beked, Brochet, Brochet Commun, Brochet De Mer, Brochet Du Nord, Brochet Européen, Brouché, Brouchet, Brouchetta, Buché, Grand Avaleur, Grand Brochet, Hecht, Lanceron, Poignard, Sifflet

Common Names in Gaelic, Irish:

Lius

Common Names in German:

Bunthecht, Europäischer Hecht, Flußhecht, Grashecht, Hecht, Hechten, Heekt, Heichit, Hengste, Höcht, Scheckhecht, Schnuck, Schnöck, Snook

Common Names in Greek:

Ζούρνα, Τούρνα, Toúrna

Common Names in Hungarian (Magyar):

Csuka

Common Names in Icelandic:

Gedda

Common Names in Inuktitut:

Hiulik, Idlûlukak, Ihok, Kikiyuk, Kiqyôq, Kiqyôq, She, Sheoak, Siilik, Siolik, Siulik, Siun, Sjulik, Tchukvak

Common Names in Italian:

Luccio

Common Names in Japanese:

Kawakamasu

Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:

白斑狗魚

Common Names in Norwegian:

Gjedde

Common Names in Persian:

Ordak Mahi, Ordakmahi, Shook Chehkhab

Common Names in Polish:

Szczupak

Common Names in Portuguese:

Lúcio

Common Names in Rumanian:

Marlita, Stiuca

Common Names in Russian:

обыкновенная щука, щука, Obyknovennaya Schuka, Shchuka, Shtschuka

Common Names in Slovak:

Stuka Obycajná

Common Names in Slovene:

Scuka

Common Names in Spanish:

Lucio

Common Names in Swedish:

Gädda

Common Names in Turkish:

Turna Baligi

Description

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Family Esocidae

Distribution: Northern Hemishpere, colder parts of Eurasia and North America. Duckbill-like snout. Forked caudal fin ; caudal rays 40-50, usually 17 branched rays ; no spines. Many small cycloid scales . Complete lateral line. With at least 8 pores in infraorbital canal . Branchiostegal rays 10-20. Nasals present. With 43-67 vertebrae . To 1.8 m maximum length . Pikes are voracious predators , feeding on a wide variety of fishes and other vertebrates .The family Esocidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and the Order Esociformes. It contains 1 genus and 5 species. It may be found in Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Primary freshwater. Some members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is diodontiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Cretaceous period. This family may be found from 70° n to 26° s and 180° w to 180° e. Etymology of this family name : From Greek, isox and also related with the Celtic root , eog, ehawc = salmon

Physical Description

Species Esox lucius

Body: Mouth and snout: Duck-billed snoutwith terminal mouth ; numerous conspicuous teeth in jaws . No barbels . Body patterning, color, and scales : Yellow-green, light olive, or cream oval spots on a darker olive or green background, in a reticulated or chain-like pattern (but see Juveniles ). Belly cream or white. Fins yellowish- or reddish-brown; dorsal, anal , and tail with diffuse dark spots. 105-148 (usually > 120) cycloid lateral scale. Body shape and size: Body elongate and cylindrical; in cross section approximately round. Typically 500-900 mm (20-36 in) TL ; maximum in Wisconsin about 1250 mm (50 in).

Fins: Tail, dorsal and other fins: Forked tail. Single dorsal with no spines and 15-19 principal rays. Pelvic fins abdominal . Adipse fin absent. Anal fin with 12-15 principal rays.

Breeding adults : Similar to non-breeders.

Juveniles: Small juveniles with faint dark mottling or vertical bars on dark green or olive flanks (may superficially appear to be a solid color); sharp border with white belly. Larger juveniles with alternating thin light and thicker dark transverse vertical bars; with increasing size the light (photos) bars break into spots.

Size/Age/Growth

May live as long as 30 years in the wild, 6 years in captivity.

Habitat

Occurs in clear vegetated lakes , quiet pools and backwaters of creeks and small to large rivers [1]. Usually solitary and highly territorial . Enters brackish water in the Baltic.

Typically found in water with a depth of -4,395 to 0 meters (-14,419 to 0 feet).[2]

Biome: Fresh water , brackish water. Demersal .

Biology

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Diet

Adults feed mainly on fishes , but at times feed heavily on frogs and crayfish[3]. Cannibalistic as juveniles [4]. In spite of numerous attempts to culture this species, it was never entirely domesticated and does not accept artificial food [4].

Reproduction

Oviparous [5].

Migration

Does not generally undertake long migrations, but a few may move considerable distances [3].

Behavior

Predators:

Eggs and young are preyed upon by fishes , aquatic insect larvae, birds, and aquatic mammals[6].

Parasites:

This fish can be heavily infested with parasites, including the broad tapeworm which, if not killed by thorough cooking, can infect human; is used as an intermediate host by a cestode parasite which results to large losses in usable catches of lake whitefish ( Coregonus clupeaformis ) in some areas; also suffers from a trematode which causes unsightly cysts on the skin [7].

Taxonomy

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Ambiguous Synonyms

  1. Esox lucius lucius Kirillov, 1962
  2. Esox lucius variegatus Fitzinger, 1832
  3. Esox nobilior Thompson, 1850

Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Esox boreus Agassiz, 1850
  2. Esox estor Lesueur, 1818
  3. Esox lucioides Agassiz and Girard, 1850
  4. Esox lucius atrox Anikin, 1902
  5. Esox lucius bergi Kaganowsky, 1933
  6. Esox reichertii baicalensis Dybowski, 1874
  7. Luccius vorax Rafinesque, 1810
  8. Lucius lucius (Linnaeus, 1758)
  9. Trematina foveolata Trautschold, 1884

Similar Species

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Fish Name Opercle and Cheek Scalation Mandibular Pores (Single Side of Jaw) Branchiostegal Rays (One Side) Adult Color Pattern Similarity Index Grass Pickerel Both fully scaled 4, rarely 3 or 5 10-14, usually 12 Dark mottled or irregular dark vertical bars; dark vertical bar below eye Very similar Muskellunge Only top portion of cheek and opercle scaled 6-9 16-19 Either solid light olive color or dark vertical bars (may be faint) or spots on light background; no bar below eye Very similar Northern Pike Cheek fully scaled, only top portion of opercle scaled 5, rarely 4 or 6 14-16 Regular rows of oval light spots on dark green background; no or faint bar below eye N/A

Members of the genus Esox

There are approximately 97 species in this genus:

E. acus · E. affinis · E. alepidotus · E. americanus (Redfin Or Grass Pickerel) · E. americanus americanus (Redfin Or Grass Pickerel) · E. americanus vermiculatus (Grass Pickerel) · E. angulatus · E. argenteus · E. astor · E. australis · E. barracuda · E. bellone · E. belone · E. belone houttuyni · E. belone marinus · E. belone marisrubri · E. boa · E. boreus · E. brasiliensis · E. cancila · Atractosteus spatula · Pinguipes chilensis · E. chirocentrus · E. crassus · E. cypho · E. depraudus · E. ectuntio · E. epsetus · E. masquinongy · E. fasciatus · E. fasciolaris · E. gambarur · E. gladius · E. hepsetus · E. hybrid · E. immaculatus · E. imperialis · E. indica · E. intergrade · E. intergrade x · E. interspecies · E. lepidotus · E. lewini · E. lineatus · E. longirostris · E. masquinongy · E. lucius (Great Northern Pickerel) · E. lucius atrox · E. lucius bergi · E. lucius lucius · E. lucius variegatus · E. lugubrosus · E. malabaricus · E. marginatus · E. marginatus far · E. marinus · E. masquinongy (Allegheny River Pike) · E. masquinongy immaculatus · E. masquinongy masquinongy (Allegheny River Pike) · E. masquinongy ohiensis · E. masquinongy ohioensis · E. niger (Chain Pickerel) · E. masquinongy · E. ohiensis · E. ornatus · E. osseus · E. ovinus · Aplocheilus parvus · E. phaleratus · E. pisciculus · E. pisculentus · E. porosus · E. ravenelii · E. reicherti · E. reichertii (Blackspotted Pike) · E. reichertii baicalensis · E. reticulatus · E. salmoneus · E. saurus · E. scomberius · E. spet · E. sphiroena · E. sphyraena · E. sphyraena minor · E. sphyraenoides · E. stomias · E. synodus · E. tiemani · E. tridecemlineatus · E. tristoechus · Galaxias truttaceus · E. umbrosus · E. vermiculatus · E. viridis · E. vittatus · E. vulpes · E. zonatus

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 12, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (1991). A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p. [back]
  2. Mean = 120.680 meters (395.932 feet), Standard Deviation = 191.060 based on 12,983 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
  3. Morrow, J.E. (1980). The freshwater fishes of Alaska. University of. B.C. Animal Resources Ecology Library. 248p. [back]
  4. Billard, R. (1997). Les poissons d'eau douce des rivières de France. Identification, inventaire et répartition des 83 espèces. Lausanne: Delachaux & Niestlé, 192p. [back]
  5. Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966). Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p. [back]
  6. Scott, W.B. and E.J. Crossman (1973). Freshwater fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 184:1-966. [back]
  7. Frimodt, C. (1995). Multilingual illustrated guide to the world's commercial coldwater fish. Fishing News Books, Osney Mead, Oxford, England. 215 p. [back]
Last Revised: 2009-06-17