the bone-pikes is a very old, original family, that split off from the basis of the bone-fish already early. they are summarized to the Knochenganoiden with the mud-fish together. In the Erdmittelalter, the bone-pikes were represented very numerous in Europe's seas, North America and Südasiens. As relics from its prime as "living fossils", 8 types only live as it were in the southern North America, in Central America and on the Antilles today.
Shape The pike-good shape of the bone-pikes is very slim and long-stretched. its body is protected by a solid tank. it is formed by smoothly together-sedate, rhombic sheds, that not itself, as usually with other fishings, overlaps. The sheds are reinforced through a hard glaze or Ganoinschicht; they are so hard that it polishes to mother-of-pearl-shiny pieces of jewelry can be processed. Because of these rhombic glaze-shed, the bone-pikes are called also Rautenschmelzschupper.
This sometimes also would use name cayman-fish touch from it reaches, at alligators of reminding muzzle, who extended through them, with very many teeth armed jaws is formed. Back and anus-fins are powerful and transfer very far to the back, until densely before the tail fluke. they support the tail fluke with the start fast as lightning off the cuff.
Those of nimble, together interconnected fuss of the bone-pikes are unique in the fish-empire. they are bent on the forefront outside, hollowed out behind inside, however. Such opisthocoel named fuss occur otherwise only with amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
The bone-pikes are despite its hard tank very agile. Since they possess a rear-main-joint, they can furthermore still move the head independently. The coloring is inconspicuous: the back is greenish, the sides more brightly, silver-brilliantly, with artverschiedenen stain-patterns.
Way of life The zähnestarrenden jaws leave easily guessed that we have to do it with robbery-fishings here. The bone-pikes prefer quiet, verkrautete waters with many hiding place-possibilities. One in this sense ideal biotope is the swampy Everglades in Florida; there, some types occur in large masses. The bone-pikes lurk motionlessly on loot-animals. They have a notices, so they stalk imperceptibly slowly along, then venture in a flash and pack the loot, usually smaller fish, through a fast hit of the opened jaw of the side. From this crocodile-mouth, there then is not any more escape.
In some areas, the bone-pikes decimate the usefulness-fish-continuances so strongly that they must be pursued in order to be able to go in economically for at all another fishery. As food-fish even, they have only a low meaning. Thanks to their as support-breath-organ trained, lung-similar swimming-blister, the bone-pikes almost survive also this gänzliche of drying up of its residential-waters in the hot season. One sees it then gasp for air with its crocodile-jaws everywhere.
Types The biggest type is the alligator-pike (Lepisosteus spatula), who lives in the influxes of the tributary from Mexico. With lengths of 3 m, sometimes even until 4 m, it is at all one of the biggest freshwater-fish. The biggest surged over 130 kg! it is regarded as popular fishing rod-object among the American sport-fishers.
This in the USA most frequent and at the farthest spread bone-pike is the slim bone-pike (Lepisosteus osseus), who has them at the most strongly extended jaw from all types. This type is looked after also by some Aquarienfreunden. it becomes heavy with 1,8 m of length until 1,7 kg, usually remains under it, however.
Reproduction As soon as the water becomes again warmer in the spring, the bone-pikes begin with the combination-games. Several males with a female always meet on that occasion at flat shore-places. That of the female abgelaichten eggs is inseminated by the males together. The hatching young-fish live off its big yolk-sack at first. After approximately two weeks, they swim freely and begin the predatory existence of its parents, in that they hunt other young-fish and gnat-larvae.
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