Tiger muskellunge
| Tiger muskellunge | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Superorder: | Protacanthopterygii |
| Order: | Esociformes |
| Family: | Esocidae |
| Genus: | Esox |
| Species: | Esox masquinongy × lucius or Esox lucius × masquinongy |
The tiger muskellunge (Esox masquinongy × lucius or Esox lucius × masquinongy), commonly called tiger muskie, is a carnivorous fish, and is the usually-sterile, hybrid offspring of the true muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and the northern pike (Esox lucius). 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 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.
The tiger muskie lives in the lakes and quiet rivers in Canada, the Great Lakes, the Upper Mississippi Valley, and the Ohio and St. Lawrence Rivers. It is rarely found far from its natural waters except for stocked fish. Several states, including Minnesota, Michigan, New Hampshire, Washington, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming stock tiger muskies. Each tiger muskie tends to inhabit the same areas of its lake from year to year. It tends toward shallower waters (6–9 ft deep) and travels half as much in the summer and fall than it does in the winter to spring, when it prefers deeper waters (15–30 ft deep).
The tiger muskie is the result of the true muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) and the northern pike (Esox lucius) interbreeding. The tiger muskie has some of the characteristics of both fish. Tiger muskie, like pike and muskellunge, have long, cylindrical-shaped bodies. Their dorsal and ventral fins are located far back near the tail and are lobe-shaped. The caudal fins of the tail are more rounded than those of true muskies.They have skinny and compressed heads and the bottom jaw is elongated with an upward curve, known as a duckbill-shape. Its pattern is varying amounts of color with vertical dark stripes and spots on a light background, the opposite color scheme of a northern pike. The tiger muskie has 5 or 6 chin pores per side on the lower jaw.
The tiger muskie feeds as the northern pike and muskellunge do, by waiting near weeds and ambushing its prey. They have food preferences similar to those of the true muskie and northern pike as well. They seem to prefer larger fish during the summer and fall months in preparation for the winter months. During the winter and spring months they prey on smaller easier targets due to their slow metabolism. Its varied diet includes yellow perch, suckers, golden shiners, walleye, smallmouth bass, and various other types of fish. When fish are not readily available tiger muskies will feed on crayfish, frogs, ducklings, muskrats, mice, other small mammals, and small birds.
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Wikipedia