Scientific name:
Esocidae

Natural spread:
northern hemisphere

the pike (Esox lucius) is such a showy appearance under the native fish-people, that everyone knows it. The long preferred muzzle with the duck-beak-profile makes it possible for the fish, is to be ripped until zähnestarrendes mouth enough, wide, under the eyes far and to pack also very big loot-animals. The seat of back and anus-fin is densely further typical before the powerful tail fluke. it is frequent becomes green, olivfarbene, stained grayish or brownish fish clearly brightly, sometimes also some verwaschen marbles, or it is vertical strips indicated.

Spread The pike occurs in North America like all over almost Europe and far as far as to Asia in as well.

Further types In Asia, there is another type, the Amurhecht (Esox reicherti); North America is still populated by 3 further types: Beside 2 rather small permanent pike-types, long growing muscle-lung (Esox masquinongy) lives the over 2 m here. The strange name comes from from the original Native American-name of the fish, that one recovers in easily adapted form also in the scientific name. it doesn't have anything to therefore do with organs.

Reproduction Most pikes with two years are sexually mature. The fish move in to the Ablaichen in flat, plant-existed shore-zones or on flooded meadows if the rivers lead many waters through the melt of the snow in the forward spring. Usually a female is accompanied by several males, that hand over alternate with the spawn-act its sperm and take care through tail-hits, that it mingles with the eggs given away at the same time of the female. The eggs become gluey as soon as they come into the water. So they take root when sinking at water-plants and can still neither be away-driven gotten into deeper ground-layers.

The young-larvae live from its yolk-sack at first, then goes at the hunt also soon, however. While they live from Schwebstoffen at first, the loot-animals become bigger soon and also the young-pike increases quickly in size and weight with it of course. But if pikes are also gluttonous robbers - some statements about length and weight of these robbery-fish, to certainly be among the angler-Latin, is.

Today, the pikes always find less suitable spawn-places. Flood-surfaces become ever rarer through the water-corrections of the human being. For many waters, a trimming with this type therefore is necessary through the human being if there should be still pikes there.