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Specy

Northern Pike

Fish

The northern pike is a large freshwater fish native to lakes, rivers and slow-moving waters across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including North America, Europe and Asia, easily identified by its elongated, torpedo-shaped body, flattened duck-like snout and rows of sharp teeth. It is an ambush predator, lying motionless among weeds or other cover before launching a rapid strike at passing fish, and it will take almost any prey it can overpower, including smaller pike, amphibians, small mammals and waterfowl chicks. Northern pike can grow to well over a metre in length and live for many years, and their aggressive strikes and large size have made them a prized target for anglers across their range. The species prefers vegetated shallows for hunting and spawning, laying eggs among submerged plants in early spring shortly after ice-out in colder regions. Though naturally widespread and often abundant, introduced populations outside its native range have sometimes caused ecological problems by preying heavily on native fish.

Facts

Classification

Diet

Carnivore 2

System (Realm)

Freshwater 2

Relationship to Peoplethe subject's own account

Hunted or Fished 1

Relationship to Peoplethe subject's own account

Invasive or Introduced Species 1

Living or Extinct

Yes 1

the subject's own accountDerived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status.

Identification

Distinguishing Appearancethe subject's own account

Northern pike are most often olive green, shading from yellow to white along the belly. The flank is marked with short, light bar-like spots and a few to many dark spots on the fins. Sometimes, the fins are reddish. Younger pike have yellow stripes along a green body; later, the stripes divide into light spots and the body turns from green to olive green. 1

Comparison

NatureServe Rank

G5 Secure 3

CITES Appendix

Not Listed 4

Scientific Namethe subject's own account

Esox lucius 1

Conservation Statusthe subject's own account

Least Concern 1

Connections

Child Taxon Of

Source Wikidata: Northern Pike

In Biome

Source Encyclopaedia Britannica

In Ecosystem

Source Northern Pike (Wikipedia)

In the Other Atlases

Found In

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

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North Macedonia

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Sources

1. Northern Pike (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Lead sentence, binomial name in parentheses
Esox lucius
Description section, coloration paragraph
Northern pike are most often olive green, shading from yellow to white along the belly. The flank is marked with short, light bar-like spots and a few to many dark spots on the fins. Sometimes, the fins are reddish. Younger pike have yellow stripes along a green body; later, the stripes divide into light spots and the body turns from green to olive green.
Infobox status field, IUCN assessment Esox lucius, NatureServe 2018, e.T135631A133427422
North America
They are also stocked in, or have been introduced to, some western lakes and reservoirs for sport fishing, although some fisheries managers believe this practice often threatens other species of fish such as bass, trout, and salmon, causing government agencies to attempt to exterminate the pike by poisoning lakes, such as Stormy Lake, Alaska.
Geographic distribution
It has also been introduced to lakes in Morocco, and is even found in brackish water of the Baltic Sea, but they are confined to the low-salinity water at the surface of the sea, and are seldom seen in brackish water elsewhere..

View the Source

2. Wikipedia: Northern pike

diet-classification (MediaWiki batch-API article extract states it plainly)
The northern pike (Esox lucius), also known as jack, northern or simply pike, is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox (pikes).
system (MediaWiki batch-API article extract states it plainly)
The IGFA currently recognises a 25 kg (55 lb) pike caught by Lothar Louis on Greffern Lake, Germany, on 16 October 1986, as the all-tackle world-record holding northern pike.

3. NatureServe Explorer: Esox lucius

NatureServe ExplorerGlobal rank (roundedGRank)

Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)

"roundedGRank": "G5"

View the Source

4. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Esox lucius (Animal Diversity Web)

Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITES

Quote, Conservation Status: CITES

CITES No special status

View the Source

Wikidata: Northern Pike

Wikidata Q165278, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
Child Taxon Of: Esociformes, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain

View the Source

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.In Biome: LakeView the Source

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