Esox

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Esox
Temporal range: Paleocene–Recent
Esox lucius ZOO 1.jpg
Northern pike (E. lucius)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Esociformes
Family: Esocidae
G. Cuvier, 1817
Genus: Esox
Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Esox lucius

Esox is a genus of freshwater fish commonly known as pike or pickerel. It is the type genus of the family Esocidae. The type species of the genus is Esox lucius , the northern pike.

Contents

Esox have a fossil record extending back to the Paleocene. Modern large pike species are native to the Palearctic and Nearctic realms, ranging across Northern America and from Western Europe to Siberia in North Asia.

Pike have the elongated, torpedo-like shape typical of predatory fishes, with sharply pointed heads and sharp teeth. Their coloration is typically grey-green with a mottled or spotted appearance with stripes along their backs, providing camouflage among underwater weeds, and each individual pike marking patterns are unique like fingerprints. Pikes can grow to a maximum recorded length of 1.50 m (5 ft), reaching a maximum recorded weight of 67lb 8oz.[ citation needed ]

Etymology

A young E. lucius specimen -- a "chain pickerel" in the original sense -- in an aquarium. Hecht.jpg
A young E. lucius specimen — a "chain pickerel" in the original sense — in an aquarium.

The generic name Esox (pike fish) derives from the Greek ἴσοξ (ee-soks, a large fish) and appears to be cognate with Celtic, Welsh eog and Irish Gaelic iasc (fish), as well as alpine Gaulic *esosk which is consistent with the original indoeuropean root for the common word for fish, *pei(k)sk. Pliny uses the Latin form Esox in reference to a large fish in the Rhine normally identified with Salmonidae (lax or salmon). Carolus Linnæus attributes Esox to the pike fish which is of similar form and appearance but taxonomically different from the salmon forms, whereas the first mention of Esox as a marine animal appears in the writings of Hesychius.

The English common name "pike" is an apparent shortening of "pike-fish", in reference to its pointed head, as the Old English word píc originally referring to a pickaxe. The plural of pike is also pike. [1] [2]

A Northern English and Lowland Scots name for the pike, ged, similarly derives from Old Norse gaddr (spike) (cf. the modern Swedish name for the pike, gädda, the Danish "gedde", the Norwegian "gjedde" and Scottish Gaelic: geadais). The Dutch name for the pike (snoek) has been given to a wide variety of fish reminding sailors of the pike (see snoek, snook).

The English "pike" originally referred specifically to the adult fish, the diminutive form "pickerel" (now used to name some of the smaller pike species, e.g. E. americanus and E. niger ) referring to the young. The walleye (Sander vitreus) is sometimes called a pickerel or a walleyed pike, but it is unrelated to the pike, being a member of the perch family (Percidae). Pike are not to be confused with the unrelated pikeminnows of genus Ptychocheilus (family Cyprinidae) or pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) which is more akin to walleye than to pike. Pike are also called "jackfish" in North America and informally "slough shark" in Western Canada.

Species

Currently, seven recognized species are placed in this genus:

ImageScientific nameCommon NameSubspeciesDistribution
Esox aquitanicus Denys, Dettai, Persat, Hautecœur & Keith, 2014 Aquitanian pike [3] Charente to the Adour drainages in southwestern France
Redfin pickerel (Duane Raver).png Esox americanus J. F. Gmelin, 1789American pickerelthe St. Lawrence drainage in Quebec, down to the Gulf Coast from Mississippi to Florida; the Great Lakes Basin from Ontario to Michigan, down to the western Gulf Coast, from East Texas to Mississippi.
Esox cisalpinus Muse.jpg Esox cisalpinus Bianco & Delmastro, 2011Southern pike [4] central and northern Italy, southeastern France and Switzerland, and it might also occur in western Balkans.
Esox lucius1.jpg Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 Northern pike Britain, Ireland, northern Europe, most of Canada, and most parts of the United States
Muskellunge (Duane Raver).png Esox masquinongy Mitchill, 1824Muskellunge
  • Esox masquinongy masquinongy (Great Lakes muskellunge or Spotted muskellunge )
  • Esox masquinongy ohioensis (Chautauqua muskellunge or Barred muskellunge)
  • Esox masquinongy immaculatus (Clear muskellunge)
mesotrophic lakes and large rivers from northern Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota through the Great Lakes region, north into Canada
Chain pickerel (Duane Raver).png Esox niger Lesueur, 1818Chain pickerelsouthern Canada to Florida, and west to Texas. On the Atlantic Northeast in Maine, New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia
Svezhevylovlennaia amurskaia shchuka.JPG Esox reichertii Dybowski, 1869Amur pikethe Amur River system in Northeast Asia

Hybrids between Esox masquinongy and Esox lucius are well-known and referred to as the tiger muskellunge.

Fossil species

Fossil Esox Fossil - Hecht (Esox).jpg
Fossil Esox

The oldest fossil species of Esox is Esox tiemani , from the late Paleocene aged Paskapoo Formation of Canada, which differs little from modern species. [5] Other fossil species include Esox kronneri , from the Eocene of the Green River formation, [6] and Esox nogaicus , is known from the Pleistocene of Ukraine, and species from the Miocene ( Esox sibiricus ) and Pliocene ( Esox moldavicus ) deposits from Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Moldavia. [7] Two additional fossil species, both from the Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada, are placed in their own genera: Estesesox foxi [8] (Santonian to Campanian [9] ), and Oldmanesox canadensis [8] [6] (Campanian to Maastrichtian [10] ).

Diet

Pike in Haus des Meeres, Vienna Esox hdm.JPG
Pike in Haus des Meeres, Vienna

Pike feed on a wide range of food sources, predominantly smaller shoal fish. Pike are also cannibalistic, sometimes preying upon smaller members of their own species. This can be seen clearly in the northern pike.

They will also prey on insects and amphibians such as newts or frogs in times when their usual food is scarce, and occasionally on small mammals like moles or mice when caught water-borne. Small birds such as ducklings may become a target for hungry pike. Pike are also known to prey on swimming snakes.

They are, however, undeserving of their reputation for being overly vicious predators. There have been some incidents of pike "attacks" on people. [11] Pike's further reputation as a pest seems to lie predominantly amongst a small handful of anglers and fishery managers who think that invasive species of pike are a threat to native rough fish and also other sport fish.

Angling and handling methods

Sign on the River Shannon, Ireland SaveDePike.jpg
Sign on the River Shannon, Ireland
A caught pike, supported by the gill covers to prevent the fish from biting the hand of the angler who caught it HandlingBigPike.JPG
A caught pike, supported by the gill covers to prevent the fish from biting the hand of the angler who caught it

Effective methods for catching this hard-fighting fish include dead baits, live baits, and lure fishing. Pike can easily be damaged when handled since they are not as robust as their reputation would suggest and have a very sensitive slime coat. Since pike have numerous sharp teeth it is wise to take extreme care when unhooking them. The use of a wet leather gauntlet and surgical forceps to remove hooks is highly recommended on safety grounds.

If practicing catch and release fishing, care for the pike should be the pike angler's utmost concern. The formerly recommended practice of grasping a pike by its eye sockets (misinterpreted as "its eyes") resulted in numerous released pike that quickly died from the inability to see prey any longer. The current recommended method of grasping pike is to close the hand firmly over the gill covers, and to make the period of handling as short as possible before release. Grabbing a pike by the gill covers is not feasible when a pike is very big, but it is easy to handle a pike by inserting the fingers at the bottom of the gill opening and grabbing the lower jaw. Big pike should also be supported at the belly. When a pike is held this way it is also easier to keep the mouth open to remove a hook. Some anglers now use special grips to grab the pike's front lower jaw, which can add to the safety of an angler because of the danger imposed by the hooks of the lure or tackle and the pike's teeth. However, these can cause serious damage to a pike's lower jaw. The Pike Anglers Club was formed in 1977 to campaign for the preservation of pike and the sport of pike fishing.

Pike are susceptible to gut hooking when fished for with natural bait. Upon taking the bait, the pike will hold it for a short time in its mouth as it moves off. The pike will then, usually, turn the bait in its mouth, so that it sits in alignment with its throat to ease swallowing. It is recommended that when pike fishing the process is not allowed to go this far and a strike is recommended as soon as a bite is indicated. Otherwise, what is known as gut hooking will result, which will normally kill or seriously injure the fish. Dutch research shows that cutting the line immediately when the fish is gut hooked will still give low mortality (14%). The hooks in the gut or stomach were either encapsulated or removed from the body. [12] Placing hooks near the rear of the bait reduces the risk of deep hooking. [13] To minimize injury from gut hooking the hook should be taken out from the gills where you will insert your pliers or forceps. Grab as close to the base of the hook as you can and rotate the eye of the hook toward the bottom of the fish's mouth and be removed carefully as to not rehook the fish.

Other methods of catching and handling pike that are now frowned upon are the gaff and the gag. The gaff is a metal hook on the end of a pole used to hook through the fish's body in place of a more humane landing net. A gag is a device for holding open the pike's mouth whilst unhooking. These are now illegal in Scotland, as they put a huge amount of pressure on a pike's jaw, thus causing irreparable damage.

Cuisine

Quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua Quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua.jpg
Quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua

The taste of pike and pickerel is highly esteemed, but the "multitude of long, fine, forked bones" are problematic. [14] [15] The dish of quenelles de brochet (pike dumplings), which puts the meat through a sieve, was invented to deal with this. [16] Indeed, Escoffier believed, falsely, that quenelles had completely displaced the whole fish from the menu. [14]

Submarines and tanks

Two United States Navy submarines have been named PikeSS-6 of 1903 and SS-173 of 1935 – and three – SS-22 of 1912, SS-177 of 1936, and SS-524 of 1944 – named Pickerel. In addition, the Soviet submarines known to NATO as the Victor III class and Akula class are called the Shchuka (Щука, "pike") class in Russian. The Soviet Iosif Stalin tank (IS-3) was also nicknamed Shchuka, in reference to its sharply pointed hull front.

Cultural significance

Mythology

Russian mythology holds that the pike is one of several forms assumed by evil water spirits called vodyanoy, and a ravenous mythical pike is traditionally blamed for decimating the fish population in the Sheksna River. Russian fairy tales, on the other hand, also tell about an old wise pike that can fulfil wishes of the one who catches it, if its catcher releases it back into its habitat. [17]

In the Finnish Kalevala , Väinämöinen creates a kantele (string instrument) from the jawbone of a pike.

Heraldry

In heraldry, the pike is called a lucy (English heraldry) or a ged (Scottish heraldry). [1] It is usually blazoned either naiant (swimming), embowed (bowed) or hauriant (jumping), though pairs of lucies may appear addorsed (back to back), as in the arms of the Finnish town of Uusikaupunki (Argent, two lucies addorsed azure).[ citation needed ]

Uusikaupunki coat of arms Uusikaupunki.vaakuna.svg
Uusikaupunki coat of arms
The canting arms of Lucie de Cockermouth: Gules, three lucies in pale argent, (2 and 1). Blason Lucy de Cockermouth (selon Gelre).svg
The canting arms of Lucie de Cockermouth: Gules, three lucies in pale argent, (2 and 1).
Coat of arms of Gimte, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Wappen Gimte.svg
Coat of arms of Gimte, in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Literature

In George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels, both the seat and the highborn bastards of the Iron Islands are named "Pyke", likely inspired by the pike fish since the islands are inhabited by Viking-like seafaring warriors who frequent pirate ships and raid the coastal regions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolling (fishing)</span> The practice of fishing by drawing a baited line or lure behind a boat

Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water at a consistent, low speed. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from a jetty. Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as salmon, mackerel and kingfish.

The American pickerel is a medium-sized species of North American freshwater predatory fish belonging to the pike family. The genus Esox is placed in family Esocidae in order Esociformes).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muskellunge</span> Species of fish

The muskellunge, often shortened to muskie,musky, ski, or lunge, is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Largemouth bass</span> Species of black bass

The largemouth bass is a carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico. It is known by a variety of regional names, such as the widemouth bass, bigmouth bass, black bass, bucketmouth, largie, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, bucketmouth bass, green trout, Gilsdorf bass, Oswego bass, LMB, and southern largemouth and northern largemouth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walleye</span> Species of fish

The walleye, also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European zander, also known as the pikeperch. The walleye is sometimes called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the blue walleye, which is a color morph that was once found in the southern Ontario and Quebec regions, but is now presumed extinct. However, recent genetic analysis of a preserved (frozen) 'blue walleye' sample suggests that the blue and yellow walleye were simply phenotypes within the same species and do not merit separate taxonomic classification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esocidae</span> Family of ray-finned fishes

Esocidae is a family of ray-finned fish in the order Salmoniformes, which contains pike, pickerel, and mudminnows. While the family traditionally only contained the genus Esox, recent genetic and paleontological research have recovered Novumbra and Dallia as members of the family Esocidae, being closer related to Esox than Umbra. Fossil specimens from the Mesozoic in North America have been assigned as two additional genera in this family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Esociformes</span> Order of ray-finned fishes

The Esociformes is a small order of freshwater ray-finned fish, with two families, Umbridae and Esocidae. The pikes of genus Esox give the order its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern pike</span> Species of fish

The northern pike is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox (pikes). They are commonly found in moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere. They are known simply as a pike in Great Britain, Ireland, most of Eastern Europe, Canada and the U.S., although in the Midwest, they may be called a Northern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angling</span> Fishing technique

Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniques such as handlining also exist. Modern angling rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a cranking device for storing, retrieving and releasing out the line, although Tenkara fishing and traditional cane pole fishing are two rod-angling methods that do not use any reel. The fish hook itself can be additionally weighted with a denser tackle called a sinker, and is typically dressed with an appetizing bait to attract and entice the fish into swallowing the hook, but sometimes an inedible fake/imitation bait with multiple attached hooks is used instead of a single hook with edible bait. Some type of bite indicator, such as a float, a bell or a quiver tip, is often used to relay underwater status of the hook to the surface and alert the angler of a fish's presence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tiger muskellunge</span> Hybrid fish

The tiger muskellunge, commonly called tiger muskie, is a carnivorous fish, and is the usually sterile, hybrid offspring of the true muskellunge and the northern pike. It lives in fresh water and its range extends to Canada, the Northeast, and the Midwest United States. It grows quickly; in one study, tiger muskie grew 1.5 times as fast as muskellunge. Like other hybrid species, tiger muskie are said to have "hybrid vigor," meaning they grow faster and stronger than the parent fish, and are also less susceptible to disease. Trophy specimens weigh about 14 kg (30 lb). Its main diet is fish and small birds. The tiger muskie and the muskie are called the fish of 10,000 casts due to the challenge involved in catching them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing lure</span> Artificial fishing bait

A fishing lure is any one of a broad category of artificial angling baits that are inedible replicas designed to mimic prey animals that attract the attention of predatory fish, typically via appearances, flashy colors, bright reflections, movements, vibrations and/or loud noises which appeal to the fish's predation instinct and entice it into gulping the lure. Angling activities using lures are known as lure fishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chain pickerel</span> Species of freshwater fish

The chain pickerel is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel belong to the Esox genus of pike.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Handline fishing</span> Fishing technique where a single fishing line is held in the hands

Handline fishing, or handlining, is a fishing technique where a single fishing line is held in the hands, rather than with a fishing rod like the usual angling, of which handlining is a subtype. Handlining is not to be confused with handfishing, which is catching fish by hand. When handlining, one or more fishing lures or baited hooks are attached to the line, and a fishing lure and often a weight and/or a fishing float can also be attached to the line. Handlining is among the oldest forms of fishing and is still practiced throughout the world today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinnerbait</span> Fishing lure

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing bait</span> Object or substance used to attract fish

Fishing bait is any luring substance used specifically to attract and catch fish, typically when angling with a hook and line. There are generally two types of baits used in angling: hookbaits, which are directly mounted onto fish hooks and are what the term "fishing bait" typically refers to; and groundbaits, which are scattered separately into the water as an "appetizer" to attract the fish nearer to the hook. Despite the bait's sole importance is to provoke a feeding response out of the target fish, the way how fish react to different baits is quite poorly understood.

<i>Esox cisalpinus</i> Species of fish

Esox cisalpinus, the southern pike or cisalpine pike, is a species of freshwater fish known from central and northern Italy, southeastern France and Switzerland, and it might also occur in the western Balkans. It has traditionally been considered a southern European variant of the widespread northern pike, but was described as a separate species in 2011. Like the northern pike, southern pike are an important species for recreational fisheries and for its role as a top predator in freshwater ecosystems.

The Aquitanian pike is a species of pike, a predatory fish native from the Charente to the Adour river drainages in the French Great South-West region. It was scientifically described in 2014, but had formerly been regarded as a population of the widespread northern pike. The two species generally resemble each other and they are able to hybridize. This represents as threat to the relatively localized Aquitanian pike, as northern pikes commonly have been used to stock places previously only inhabited by the Aquitanian pike; historically, the two had fully separated distributions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redfin pickerel</span> Subspecies of fish

The redfin pickerel is a subspecies of freshwater fish belonging to the pike family (Esocidae) of the order Esociformes. Not to be confused with its close relatives, the grass pickerel and the chain pickerel, this fish is unique in the fact that it has brightly colored red fins. Like all pikes, the redfin pickerel is an ambush predator, lying amongst thick vegetation in wait for smaller, more agile prey to enter within its range of attack.

Fishing in Colorado has brought in a large amount of revenue for the state. In 2019 Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimated outdoor recreation contributed roughly 62 billion dollars to the state economy. Fishing was reported to be the 5th most popular outdoor activity and 110, 511 fishing and hunting combination licenses were sold. Ice fishing makes up part of this total fishing revenue and is a common annual sport for Colorado residents and out-of-state visitors. There is no legal definition of ice fishing season. Rather, people begin to ice fish once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also recommend that people always ice-fish with another person. Typically, this starts in December and ends in April for Colorado. Lakes size, depth, elevation, and seasonal weather can cause variance to the season. Once the lakes freeze over with thick enough ice, anglers go out onto the ice, drill holes through the ice, and fish for a variety of species.

<i>Triaenophorus nodulosus</i> Species of tapeworm

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References

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  3. Denys, Gaël Pierre Julien; Dettai, Agnès; Persat, Henri; Hautecœur, Mélyne; Keith, Philippe (2014). "Morphological and Molecular Evidence of Three Species of Pikes Esox spp. (Actinopterygii, Esocidae) in France, including the Description of A New Species". Comptes Rendus Biologies. 337 (9): 521–34. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2014.07.002. PMID   25242691.
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  5. Sinha, Sinjini; Brinkman, Don B; Murray, Alison M. (14 December 2019). "A morphological study of vertebral centra in extant species of pike, Esox (Teleostei: Esociformes)". Vertebrate Anatomy Morphology Palaeontology. 7: 111–128. doi: 10.18435/vamp29357 . ISSN   2292-1389. S2CID   213203684.
  6. 1 2 Grande, L. (1999). "The First Esox (Esocidae: Teleostei) from the Eocene Green River Formation, and a Brief Review of Esocid Fishes". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 19 (2): 271–292. Bibcode:1999JVPal..19..271G. doi:10.1080/02724634.1999.10011141.
  7. Kovalchuk, Oleksandr M.; Wilson, Mark V.H.; Grande, Terry (2017). "A review of Neogene and Quaternary pikes of southeastern Europe and a new species from the early Pleistocene of Nogaisk, Ukraine". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 62. doi: 10.4202/app.00311.2016 .
  8. 1 2 Wilson, Brinkman & Neuman, 1992
  9. "Fossilworks: Estesesox".
  10. "Fossilworks: Oldmanesox".
  11. "Water skier bitten by giant pike". The Guardian. 31 August 1999. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Coping with Deep Hooked Pike | Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain". Archived from the original on 13 September 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  14. 1 2 Waverley Root, Food, 1996, p. 353
  15. 'Piscator', "Pike Fishing", The Sportsman (Second Series), 2:3:139 (March 1840)
  16. Marthe Daudet, Shirley King, translator and adaptor, Pampille's Table: Recipes and Writings from the French Countryside from Marthe Daudet's Les Bons Plats de France [1934], p. 153
  17. "Emelya the Simpleton", russian folklore fairy tale. At the Pike's Behest