Esocidae
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Esox Temporal range: Upper Cretaceous–recent |
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| Northern pike (E. lucius) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Superorder: | Protacanthopterygii |
| Order: | Esociformes |
| Family: |
Esocidae G. Cuvier, 1817 |
| Genus: |
Esox Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Type species | |
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Esox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 |
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Esox is a genus of freshwater fish, the only living genus in the family Esocidae—the esocids which were endemic to North America and Eurasia during the Paleogene through present.
The species of this genus are known as pike and pickerel. The type species is E. lucius, the northern pike.
The big pike species are native to the Palearctic and Nearctic ecozones, ranging across northern North America and from Western Europe to Siberia in Eurasia.
Pikes have the elongated, torpedo-like form 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 weeds. Individual pike marking patterns are unique, like fingerprints. Pike can grow to a maximum recorded length of 1.83 m (6 ft), reaching a maximum recorded weight of 35 kg (77 lb).
There currently seven recognized species in this genus:
One fossil species, Esox kronneri Grande, 1999, is known from the Eocene of the Green River formation. Two additional fossil species from this family are place in their own genera: Estesesox foxi Wilson, Brinkman & Neuman, 1992, and Oldmanesox canadensis Wilson, Brinkman & Neuman, 1992.
The generic name Esox (pike fish) derives from the Greek ἴσοξ (ee-soks, a large fish) and appears to be both profoundly archaic and 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 to the salmoniformes, whereas the first mention of Esox as a marine animal appears in the writings of Hesych(ius) .
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