Pike common. Brief information about the pike Message about the pike fish

Since childhood, we have all heard about such as common pike. She is even a character in fairy tales. But here's what it is, where it lives ... Hardly anyone thought about these questions. Meanwhile, it is one of the largest

Biology of the common pike

The common pike (pike order, family Pike, genus Pike) is a predator. The origin of the name of the fish is not known for certain. According to experts, the name of the predator came simply from the word "puny". Thus, they began to call fish with a fairly elongated body and at the same time deceptively thin. But there is another version, according to which the word is derived from the common Slavic skeu, which in translation means "to kill, stab, cut."

The biology of the common pike is such that it can grow up to one and a half meters in length and weigh up to 35 kilograms. But, as a rule, the fish has a more modest size: a length of up to a meter and a weight of up to eight kilograms. Her body is somewhat reminiscent of a torpedo, her head is very large, and her mouth is quite wide. An interesting fact is that females are larger than males. The body of the fish has a characteristic elongation, it is difficult to confuse it with any other fish. But the head has some features, it is clearly seen that the lower jaw protrudes significantly forward. This is due to the fact that the common pike is a predator, and therefore has an unusual structure of the oral cavity, which is why it was nicknamed the "river shark".

Predator coloring

At first glance, it may seem that the fish has a standard color. But this is not entirely true. The color of the predator is very variable and depends on its habitat. The common pike (description is given in the article) changes colors depending on the degree of development and the nature of the vegetation that surrounds it. The fish can be gray-green, gray-brown, gray-yellow. In this case, the back may be darker than the main background, and on the sides of the predator there are always large olive or brown spots that form a kind of stripe.

Unpaired fins are usually yellow-gray or brown with dark spots, and paired fins are orange. Even silver pikes live in some lakes. It should be noted that the overall color of the fish depends on many factors and may be subject to constant changes. Here the age of the individual, the time of year plays a role. The common pike has a dark color in a pond with muddy water and a silty bottom.

Pike habitats

The common pike lives in the fresh waters of North America and Eurasia. As a rule, the fish lives in the coastal region, in thickets, in slow-flowing or stagnant waters. In ponds, rivers, lakes, pike leads a sedentary life. But fish may well be found in partially desalinated areas of the seas, for example, in the Riga, Finnish and Baltic Seas, as well as the Taganrog Bay of Azov.

The common pike has a very wide range of habitats. Therefore, it is found in the basins of the Aral and Caspian Seas, and in the north the predator can be found from Kola Peninsula to Anadyr, in the Amur River basin. In lakes and ponds, fish swim close to the shore, preferring shallow water littered with debris and thickets of algae. But in the rivers, pike can be found both at depth and near the coast. AT in large numbers predators live in the mouths of rivers that flow into large reservoirs. In such places, as a rule, there are wide spills and abundant aquatic flora. However, fish prefer only those waters that have sufficient oxygen content.

Even a winter decrease in the level of oxygen in the water can lead to the death of predators. What conditions does the common pike prefer? Where it lives, we considered earlier. The fish calmly tolerates acidified water, and therefore is found even in swamps. But the pike avoids fast and rocky rivers. The main condition for the stay of fish is the presence of abundant vegetation. But in the northern regions, the predator, as a rule, hides under bushes, snags hanging over the water, or behind stones, where fish lie in wait for their prey.

Lifestyle

What kind of lifestyle does the common pike lead? The description of the fish would be incomplete without mentioning the nutrition of the famous predator. Usually the fish is motionless in its ambush, and then it rushes at its prey with lightning speed. It is very rare that a creature manages to avoid the teeth of a pike if it is chasing potential prey. The peculiarity of the predator is that it not only pursues the victim in the water, but also makes amazing air jumps. She swallows the victim only from the head. Even if the pike grabbed the fish across the body, it will certainly quickly turn it over and send it headlong into the mouth.

What does a pike eat?

Fish begin to prey very early. Having reached a length of 12-15 millimeters, the fry can already eat smaller carp larvae. However, during this period of development, small pike prefer to feed on invertebrates: chironomids, having reached five centimeters, the pike completely switch to feeding on young growth of other fish. They can no longer eat only invertebrates. This is due to the fact that energy is spent on the extraction of food, which must be replenished with nutrients (invertebrates do not replenish the energy spent). Therefore, young pike die in aquariums if they are fed exclusively with small crustaceans.

Sometimes in floodplain water bodies that have lost contact with the river after the flood level has decreased, the young are isolated, but still the transition to carnivorous feeding is mandatory. In such cases, the pike develop unevenly. Small individuals feed on invertebrates and grow very poorly. At the same time, larger pike eat their smaller relatives, grow much faster and turn into real cannibals that consume their own kind.

As a rule, such a phenomenon is observed among individuals of larger sizes (ten centimeters or more). However, very small fish (3.1-4 cm) sometimes become cannibals. In some reservoirs, only pikes are found from fish. This happens amazing phenomenon due to a whole successive chain of cannibalism. In the end, the common pike remains the only inhabitant of the reservoir. The systematization of the process is as follows: small pike eat invertebrates, and larger relatives feed on them, which, in turn, are eaten by even larger individuals, and so on. The objective existence of such a chain is associated with the high fecundity of pikes, which makes it possible to obtain a significant number of offspring to feed relatives, including also relatives.

When does the common pike eat? The way of life of fish is such that they eat in the evening or in the morning, but at night and at noon they almost always rest, digesting food. The menu of predators depends on different circumstances, and therefore can be very different. Basically it depends on where the common pike lives. Habitat determines the range of food available to fish. As a rule, they eat the most numerous individuals of the reservoir. And in the spring, for example, pikes can readily eat frogs. There are even cases when a predator dragged a mouse, a rat, a sandpiper or a squirrel swimming across the river under water.

Large pikes can afford to attack waterfowl, and it does not have to be a duckling, it can be an adult duck. For such tricks, a predator is sometimes called a duckling. The literature even describes a case when a pike grabbed a goose by the paw and did not let him go until he pulled the fish ashore.

However, it cannot be said that pike causes great harm to fisheries. In natural reservoirs, it regulates the community by eating small things, weak and sick fish, while it enables larger and healthier individuals to grow faster and produce good offspring. Pike digest food very slowly. That's why he eats periodically. And in winter, fish do not eat at all.

Spawning predator

How does the common pike reproduce? The characterization of fish would be incomplete without mentioning reproduction. As we have said, pikes are incredibly prolific fish. They reach puberty at 3-5 years, while their length is 35-40 centimeters. Females begin to spawn immediately after the ice melts at a temperature of 3-6 degrees. For this, fish are suitable in shallow water, under the shore. As a rule, smaller individuals go to spawn, then medium ones, and only then the largest ones. Each female is guarded by 2-4 males, up to eight potential applicants can be near a large one. The female swims in front, and the males follow her on the sides or hold on to her back. Pike rub against bushes, stumps, knots, cattail stalks and other objects. They do not stay in one place and move around the spawning ground all the time. It is during this period that caviar is spawned. At the end of the spawning process, all fish rush in different directions and splash heavily, and males sometimes jump out to the surface of the water.

It is difficult to imagine, but depending on the size of the female, she is able to sweep from 17.5 to 215 thousand eggs. Large caviar, up to 3 millimeters in diameter, is scattered by the female, and then glued to the plants. After a few days, the stickiness is lost, the eggs fall off and continue their development at the bottom of the reservoir. In those places where there is no vegetation, they immediately find themselves at the bottom. After 8-14 days, larvae begin to hatch, which at first feed on small crustaceans (cyclops and daphnia).

How long do pike live?

The common pike (photos are given in the article) can live up to twenty years. However, there is evidence that a thirty-three-year-old fish was once caught. In general, in the literature you can find an incredible number of legends regarding the amazing vitality of pikes. Especially incredible is the story of the Heilbron pike, which was caught by King Frederick II and marked by him with a golden ring in 1230 in a lake near Beckingen. The legend says that the same fish was re-caught after 267 years. At that time, she already weighed 140 kilograms and had grown to 5.7 meters in length. The ridge of this outlandish creature was exhibited in the cathedral of the city of Mannheim. However, later it turned out that this story is just a fishing tale. It turned out that the spine of the exhibit was nothing more than a hoax, since it was made up of the spines of several fish. And there are many such amazing stories.

How are predatory fish caught?

The common pike is a commercial fish. Its meat is completely lean and not very tasty, but it is considered quite an important dietary product. In the old days, the Cossacks on the Don did not recognize such fish and threw it back into the river. But in the Middle Ages in England, pike was considered a very tasty and expensive fish. Fish fillet is very popular among French women, and therefore in France pike is not only caught, but also bred in artificial ponds.

In our country, its fishing is also very popular among fishermen. Most often, spinning is used for this, this is the most complex view fishing, but also the most interesting. With knowledge of precision engineering and right choice bait fishermen can get a great trophy.

The fishing season begins in early spring, with the arrival of the first warm days, but before the onset of floods. This period falls at the end of March and the beginning of April. For fishing, it is better to choose small rivers. The period after spawning is especially good for fishing, because seven to twelve days after it, the spring zhor begins in pike. This period can be very short, and can last up to twenty days. A starving fish bites on any bait. But it is better to catch it closer to the spawning grounds. As soon as it ends, other fish rush here, attracted by pike caviar. And the predator does not waste time and feeds on new prey.

A sharp and strong wind makes the pike go to the depths. When fishing, it is worth considering the specifics of the reservoir. For example, in small rivers, fishing should be carried out near pools and pits.

Fish bite improves significantly towards the end of summer, when the heat subsides. And in September it becomes very intense and remains so in the daytime, almost until the moment when it becomes ice. Feeling the approach of cold weather, the fish tries to accumulate fat, and therefore it feeds heavily and falls for the bait faster. A particularly large catch can be obtained during quiet autumn evenings with fogs. Autumn fishing attracts many anglers, leaving their bottom and float rods, they pick up spinning rods in order to catch the predator.

Periodically, predators change their teeth. Some anglers believe that predators do not feed during such periods. But this is absolutely not true. The process occurs gradually, the teeth change one at a time, but painfully. And yet, even in such periods, the fish hunt.

teeth on mandible fish perform the function of capturing food. They have the shape of fangs and at the same time different sizes. But on the upper jaw, the teeth are smaller, their points are directed inside the mouth. When capturing the victim, she no longer has a chance to escape from the mouth of the predator.

According to experienced fishermen, pike is a very cunning fish. And sometimes it's hard to catch her. Once a fish is off the hook, it remembers the bait that hurt it. Therefore, next time she will never bite on the same complementary foods. Fishermen in such cases should change either the place of fishing or the bait.

Fishing Planet

Fishing is so popular that it is reflected in the FishingPlanet computer game. The unique common pike is one of the possible trophies of virtual fishing. FishingPlanet is a very realistic fishing simulator (online). It was created by true lovers of this activity for the same avid fishermen. In this game, you can choose fish, tackle, strive to improve your skills. And you can also include friends in the process. Of course, the simulator will not replace real fishing, but there are many of its fans, since the creators of the game tried to make it very realistic and interesting.

Instead of an afterword

In our article, we tried to tell the most Interesting Facts about the famous predator, which is a thunderstorm of rivers and lakes. But at the same time, pike is valued for dietary meat and is a desirable trophy for every fisherman.

Entertaining material for younger students. There are many unusual things in nature.

There are about 200 thousand different kinds of fish on earth, more than frogs, newts, toads, salamanders, snakes, lizards, all birds and all animals put together!

The sizes of fish are very different: from 1 cm to 20 meters. It is noticed that in small reservoirs fish do not grow as large as in large ones. Whatever the fish, then its own special form body, your color and your size. There are fish thin and long, like a whip, thick and round, like a ball, tiny - with an ant and huge - more than an elephant. There are herbivorous fish like sheep and goats, and there are predatory fish like tigers and lions.

The body of almost all fish is covered with scales, like chain mail. Fish scales grow throughout life, growing in shreds. In summer, the fish grows rapidly - and the ring on the scales is wide, and in winter it hardly grows - and the ring turns out to be narrow. By rings, wide and narrow, you can count how many winters and how many years the fish.

Fish are perfectly adapted to life in the water. No wonder they say: "Fish are the children of water." Their bodies are streamlined, which makes it easier for them to swim. Gills extract the oxygen needed for breathing from the water. The tail fin, like an oar, moves the fish in the water. Pebbles - otoliths - float in special chambers in the head, they help the fish to maintain balance. Fish have a swim bladder (no one except fish has one!), Which helps them dive, float and soar in the air, and even “talk”. And there's more amazing organ- lateral line. It allows fish to see without eyes and hear without ears. Man has five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch. And the fish have six of them! The sixth is the feeling of the sideline. The predator is not yet seen or heard, but the fish already feels its approach - with its sides!

The science that studies fish is called ichthyology. Fish are adapted to the place in which they live. Fish that have to swim a lot are slender, streamlined. These are herring, tuna, salmon, sharks, mullets. Those for whom it is more important to hide more securely, to be invisible, look like stones, algae, clods of silt. For example, seahorses, sea needles, rays, gobies.

The color of the fish is also very different. There are white, black, brown fish. They are completely colorless, almost transparent. A lot of fish and multi-colored: striped, speckled, spotted, zigzag. Some fish are colored like chameleons. The flounder on the sandy bottom becomes yellow, on the silt - gray, and on the stony - spotted. There are fish that turn pale when they are frightened and blush when they are angry.

Birds lay eggs and fish spawn. The fry hatch from the eggs. Fish throw hundreds, thousands, millions of eggs. Most of our fish spawn in spring and summer (pike, perch, roach, bream, carp, catfish), some spawn in autumn (salmon, trout), and even in winter (burbot).

Eggs ripen on algae, snags, stones. But there are some fish that make special nests for caviar. The seahorse and the seapike always carry their eggs with them, in a special bag on their stomach. The fewer eggs a fish throws, the more it takes care of them.

There are live-bearing fish: sharks, rays, eelpout. They hatch eggs inside the body and immediately throw live fish. And yet, most of the fish and eggs die. But it would be much worse if a fry hatched from each egg, and a fish grew from each fry. Then all the rivers, seas, lakes and oceans would overflow with fish, and then they would all die from overcrowding and lack of food.

Fish of the Amur Region

In the water bodies of the Amur region, there are up to 60 species of fish. From the sturgeon family in the Amur. Zeya, Selemdzhe, the largest local fish are found - kaluga and Amur sturgeon. The largest dimensions of Kaluga are up to 4 m in length and about a ton of weight. Taimen, whitefish, and lenok are found within the region from the salmon family. The cold-loving fish of the northern regions of the region is grayling.

Many small representatives of cyprinids live in rivers and lakes: minnows, Amur ide. Valuable commercial fish from cyprinids are grass carp, skygazer, Amur carp, silver carp, silver carp.

The ubiquitous inhabitant of our reservoirs is the pike, reaching up to a meter in length and up to 16 kg of weight. The Amur catfish is widely known. It is a predatory night fish. It lives in large rivers and lakes, mainly in the southern regions. Amur fish of the killer whale family are peculiar: killer whale, scourge killer whale, etc. All killer whales are devoid of scales, their skin is covered with poisonous mucus, there are antennae on the upper and lower jaws, and sharp spines in the dorsal and pectoral fins. An interesting fish of the Cupid is the snakehead. It is found in the channel of the Amur, large lakes, in muddy places. Can use atmospheric oxygen for breathing. In the Amur, from the lower reaches to Blagoveshchensk, there is a Chinese perch (auha). This is a typical predator. The only freshwater fish from the cod family found in our waters is burbot.

river dwellers

Pink salmon is a travel fish. As long as it grows, it swims the seas. But when the time comes to postpone the game, pink salmon will rush with all its might into the river, where it was once born itself. Its path is long and difficult - through waterfalls, shoals and rifts, sometimes a fish crawls on its belly to its native canal or stream. It will arrive at the place, dig a hole at the bottom, lay eggs, and itself, exhausted, die. Pink salmon fry, when they emerge from the eggs, slide down the river into the ocean.

Ruff is somewhat reminiscent of a hedgehog - just as prickly. Ruff is very tenacious: if you throw it on the ice, it will freeze, and in the warmth it will thaw and swim again. Crucian - unpretentious. Can live in still water. Eats everything.

Plotvichki are very similar to swallows - sharp, dexterous and tails with a fork, forked. For beautiful red fins, fishermen call roach rudd.

The tench on land is covered with spots, some kind of tatters. This mucus on it hardens, peels off and falls off. For the ability to molt, the fish got its name.

Pike fishermen called the river wolf. She attacks both small fish and large ones, if she is hungry. It will drag a gosling or duckling to the bottom. But there is still one nickname for the pike - the river orderly. After all, first of all, the pike attacks sick fish and thereby cleanses the reservoirs, does not allow diseases to spread.

Riddles about fish

1. Parents and children have all their clothes made of coins. (Fish.)

2. I took the bait, and without saying "thank you",

Somewhere impolite sailed away ... (fish).

3. Wag her tail back and forth, and she is gone, and there is no trace. (Fish.)

4. A brawler and a bully live in river water

And he doesn't let the little fish pass.

Bony and prickly, he does not like to joke,

Even a pike can't swallow it. (Ruff.)

5. She lives in the water, there is no beak, but she pecks. (Fish.)

6. All in needles, like a hedgehog, what is the name of the fish? ... (Ruff.)

7. In rivers, oxbow lakes,

Many thickets in which,

This fish lives

And lives in quarries

And does not avoid ponds

With freezing water.

And it happens to be silver

And it happens to be golden. (Carp.)

8. He lives in the very pool, the owner of the depth,

He has a huge mouth, and his eyes are barely visible. (Som.)

9. At the bottom, where it is quiet and dark, lies a mustachioed log. (Som.)

10. She drank in her mouth, she lived under water.

It scared everyone, swallowed everyone, and now it got into the cauldron. (Pike.)

11. She is the most dangerous of all in the river, cunning, gluttonous, strong.

Besides, such a badass! Of course it is... (pike).

12. I am a fish. All my family lives in the seas

Only in the river - me! (Burbot.)

Poems about fish

The boy Zhenya is a fisherman.

And Zhenya has fishing.

Fishing is a passion.

What they catch fish with is tackle.

On the hook a worm is a profit.

In the scoop, crucian carp is alive.

V. Gusev

Lucky Egor again!

It sits by the river not in vain:

Five crucians in a bucket

And four minnows.

But look - by the bucket

There was a sly cat...

How many fish home Yegorka

Will it bring to our ears?

V. Krivosheee

WHERE DOES THE FISH SLEEP?

Dark at night, quiet at night.

Fish, fish, where do you sleep?

The fox trail leads to the hole,

Dog track - to the kennel,

Belkin's trail leads to a hollow,

Myshkin - to a hole in the floor.

It is a pity that in the river on the water

There are no traces of you anywhere.

Only darkness, only silence.

Fish, fish, where do you sleep?

I. Tokmakova

SAMYI-MOST

Who are you?

I am the best!

Mustachioed, strong and stubborn!

Whiskered? You must be a cat.

And the strongest

So elephant.

But does an elephant live in water?

What about the cat? He is afraid of water!

And I don't like dry land.

In the river at the bottom is my warm home.

I am the very best

I am the most-most-most catfish!

FISHER

fisherman, angler,

Show your catch!

I caught a big bream

And burbot - that's it!

Two humpbacked, striped

Perch and two lines!

Pike, carp, zander...

And there are two fry in the bucket.

V. Musatov

The pike in the river sleeps at the bottom,

A school of fish floats above it.

No matter how, fish, do not get

You toothy pike in the mouth!

Under the water lilies in silence

Where not very small

Important breams are walking

The width of a plate.

Fish Quiz

1. Who has both eyes on the same side? (At the flounder.)

2. Who has a mouth on his belly? (At the shark.)

3. Which fox kills fish with its tail? (One type of shark: it has weak teeth, and the tail is very long, almost like a torso.)

4. What dog does not bark? (There is a dog fish, it does not bark, but bites hard: its caviar and liver are poisonous.)

5. What kind of fish builds a nest? (Fish stickleback.)

6. Who swims tail first? (Fry of pink salmon leave the river into the sea with their tail forward.)

7. Who flies, not a bird? (Flying fish can fly over a hundred meters, flies like a glider.)

8. What kind of fish is domesticated by man? (Mirror carp.)

9. What kind of fish appearance looks like a chess piece? (Sea Horse.)

10. What fish have antennae? (Sturgeon, barbel, carp, carp.)

11. What animals sleep with open eyes? (Fish - no eyelids, snakes - eyelids have grown together.)

12. What fish carry weapons on their noses? (Swordfish, sawfish.)

13. What fish are called heavenly bodies? (Moon fish, sun fish.)

14. What fish live longest? (Beluga - up to 100 years old, pike - more than 100 years old, catfish - up to 60 years old.)

15. Which fish swims faster than all other fish? (Swordfish - 25 m/sec.)

Proverbs, sayings, signs

The fish is looking for where it is deeper, and the person is looking for where it is better.

You can't even pull a fish out of a pond without difficulty.

Mute like a fish.

Like a fish in water.

Slippery like an eel.

Where there is no pike, there is a ruff - the owner.

Fish jump out of the water - before the rain.

The best of the best

The largest fish on Earth is the whale shark, its length is up to 20 meters.

The largest River fish- catfish The length of this predator reaches 5 m, and the mass is more than 300 kg.

The most frost-resistant is the rare dallium fish, or black fish, living in small rivers and swamps of Chukotka, as well as off the coast of Alaska. The ponds there freeze to the very bottom. But this does not interfere with the dahlia, it burrows into the silt and hibernates there, even freezes into ice. At the same time, it freezes so much that it becomes brittle. It remains in this state throughout the long winter. In the spring, it thaws and continues to live normally!

The smallest fish in our waters is Berg's goby, which inhabits the Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas. Bulls 3 cm among their relatives seem to be giants.

The record holder for jumping among fish is salmon, which overcomes 3-4 m in the air.

Monk fish live off the coast of Europe, from the Black Sea to the Barents Sea. In appearance, it lives up to its name. Imagine a one and a half meter tadpole with a huge toothy mouth, with a back studded with thorns, and with skin covered with warts. The anterior ray of the dorsal fin - the "fishing rod" - is extended into a flexible rod, at the end of the rod there is a brush. Half buried in the sand, the devil tilts the rod in different directions and moves the brush. It is worth an interested fish to approach - and she

instantly disappears in a huge mouth.

In small rivers, lakes in India and on the Philippine Islands, climbing perch fish lives. People call her a creeper. During rain or morning dew, the climbing perch often gets out of the reservoirs and goes on a trip overland in search of food. The fish crawls, pushing off with its tail, pectoral fins and spikes of gill covers, travels hundreds of meters from reservoir to reservoir, crawls over stones and fallen trees. And when it happens that the water in the river is completely dry, crawler fish burrow into the silt and hibernate.

Another peculiar fish lives in tropical waters - muddy jumping fish. It can often be seen perched on the aerial roots of mangrove trees. The peculiar structure of the pectoral fins allows the fish to quickly jump on land. It's almost impossible to catch up with them.

Leaf fish live in the rivers of Brazil. Her body is flat like a leaf, her nose is elongated like a leaf petiole, and on the sides there are patterns similar to leaf veins. And she floats like a dead leaf with the flow. Everyone confuses it with a leaf and does not touch it.

A four-eyed fish lives in the tropics: each eye is divided in two. The fish swims on the surface and watches the air with the upper halves of the eyes, and the bottom halves with the lower halves. He sees what is above and what is below - he will not overlook anything.

Piranha means "pirate" in Portuguese. These seemingly harmless fish have powerful, like a bulldog, jaws, seated with strong, sharp teeth. A piranha will instantly bite a stick, as thick as a finger, and the finger itself will not regret it. If piranhas meet a swimming boar or a bull, they will leave a pile of gnawed bones from him. Even crocodiles are afraid of them. However, they are edible, but you need to catch them carefully.

Pike, or common pike (lat. Esox lucius) is a fish of the pike family. Distributed in fresh waters of Eurasia and North America. It usually lives in the coastal zone, in water thickets, in stagnant or slow-flowing waters.

It can also be found in desalinated parts of the seas - for example, in the Finnish, Riga and Curonian bays of the Baltic Sea, in the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov. Pike can withstand the acidic reaction of water well, can live comfortably in water bodies with a pH of 4.75. With a decrease in the oxygen content to 3.0-2.0 mg / liter, respiratory depression sets in, therefore, pike often die in overseas reservoirs in winter.

Domain: Eukaryotes
Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordates
Class: Ray-finned fish
Order: Salmon
Suborder: Pike
Family: Pike
Genus: Pike
Species: Pike

PIKE FISHES (ESOCOIDEI) SUBORDER In fish of this group, the fins are supported by soft rays, the ventral fins are located in the middle of the belly, the dorsal one is shifted back and either all or the back of it is placed above the anal. The mouth is lined with intermaxillary bones. The swim bladder is connected to the intestines. The scales are cyclic. Pike-like freshwater fish, widespread in the waters of the northern hemisphere. There are two families in this group: pike and umber.

Pikes belong to the salmon order.

Table of record pikes

Pike size and weight table

pike species

There are five types of pike in the world. Two species of pike live on the territory of the Eurasian continent. Common (northern) pike, the most common and Amur pike. And three more species in America. The common pike (Esox lucius) is distributed circumpolarly in the northern waters of Europe, Asia and America. Its range is one of the largest among freshwater fish. Amur pike (E. reicherti) is found only in the Amur basin and on Sakhalin. Three types of pike - masquinong (E. masquinongy), striped (E. niger) and red-finned (E. americanus) have two subspecies northern red-finned and grassy red-finned pike - distributed only in the eastern part of North America. Common pike, Amur pike, masquinong inhabit reservoirs with different hydrological regimes, but prefer lakes, lake-like extensions and river bays. These species switch to predatory feeding in the first year of life, with a length of about 5 cm, they are characterized by a rapid growth rate, reaching significant sizes - 80 cm or more. The largest is masking. These species become sexually mature at a length of 30-40 cm, at the 4-6th year of life. Life expectancy is 20 years or more. The striped pike is somewhat smaller; invertebrates are of great importance in its diet. This species is found more often in lakes and in dammed sections of rivers.

All species of pike, including North American species, have an equal number of chromosomes (2n-50) and easily interbreed among themselves in artificial conditions. Dwarf species become sexually mature at 1.5-2 years. Large species become sexually mature at 3-4 years. Males earlier by 6-12 months.

common pike

(Esox lucius) Length up to 180 cm, weight up to 45 kg (usually up to 1 m and 8 kg). Age up to 20 years.

Amur pike

(E. reicherti) Length up to 110 cm, weight up to 16 kg. Age up to 15 years.

Muskinong pike

(E. masquinongy) Length up to 180 cm, weight up to 45 kg. Age up to 20 years.

striped pike

(E. niger) Length up to 75 cm, weight up to 4 kg. Age up to 15 years.

red-finned pike

(E. americanus) Length up to 30-40 cm, weight up to 500 grams. Age up to 10 years.

Often, pike come across albino pike, two photos of which I will give as an example.

Albino pike

Appearance

Length up to 1.8 m, weight up to 45 kg (usually up to 1 m and 8 kg). The body is torpedo-shaped, the head is large, the mouth is wide. The coloration is variable, depending on the environment: depending on the nature and degree of development of the vegetation, it can be gray-greenish, gray-yellowish, gray-brown, the back is darker, the sides with large brown or olive spots that form transverse stripes. Unpaired fins are yellowish-gray, brown with dark spots; pairs are orange. Feeds mainly on fish. Silver pikes are found in some lakes.

Males and females can be distinguished by the shape of the genital-urinary opening, which in males has the form of a narrow oblong slit, painted in the color of the womb, and in females - an oval depression surrounded by a pink roller.

The body of the pike has an elongated, arrow-shaped shape. The head is strongly elongated, the lower jaw protrudes forward. The teeth on the lower jaw are of different sizes and serve to capture the prey. Teeth on other bones oral cavity smaller, directed with sharp ends into the pharynx and can be immersed in the mucous membrane. Thanks to this, the prey passes easily, and if it tries to escape, the pharyngeal teeth rise and hold the prey.

Pikes are characterized by a change of teeth in the lower jaw: the inner surface of the jaw is covered soft cloth, under it are rows of 2-4 replacement teeth, which are adjacent to the back of each acting one and form a single group (dental family) with it. When a working tooth falls out of use, an adjacent replacement tooth of the same family takes its place. At first it is soft and unstable, but then the base adheres tightly to the jaw bone and becomes stronger. Pike teeth do not change at the same time. At the same time, some tooth groups end at the edge of the jaw with an old tooth that is already resolving, others with a strong working one, and still others with a still mobile young one. In some reservoirs, the change of teeth in pikes intensifies during certain seasons, and then the pike in these reservoirs ceases to take large prey, since it can escape from the predator's mouth. It is difficult to catch her at this time, as she cannot grab the bait.

reproduction

In natural reservoirs, female pike begin to breed in the fourth, less often in the third year of life, and males - in the fifth.

Pike spawning occurs at a temperature of about 6 ° C, immediately after the ice melts, near the coast at a depth of 0.5-1 meter. During spawning, the fish go to shallow water and splash noisily. Usually the smallest individuals come out to spawn first, and the last - the largest. At this time, pikes are kept in groups: 2-4 males in one female; near large females - up to 8 males. The female swims ahead, the males swim behind her, lagging behind by about half the hull. They either cling to the sides of the female, or try to stay directly above her back. The dorsal fins and upper backs of the fish constantly emerge from the water at this time.

During spawning, pikes rub against bushes, roots, stems of reeds and cattails and other objects. In one place, the fish do not linger for a long time, all the time they move around the spawning ground and spawn. At the end of spawning, all individuals of the spawning group rush in different directions, causing a loud splash; while females often jump out of the water into the air.

One female pike, depending on the size, can lay from 17.5 to 215 thousand eggs. The eggs are large, about 3 mm in diameter, weakly sticky, can stick to the vegetation, but easily fall off when shaken off. After 2-3 days, the stickiness disappears, most of the eggs roll down and their further development occurs at the bottom. Incubation period 8-14 days at a temperature of 5-12 degrees, the warmer the water, the faster the stage of incubation of eggs passes until the larvae appear. After another 6-8 days, complete resorption occurs. yolk sac and the larvae become fry at a length of 15 mm, which begin to feed on small crustaceans, bloodworms, etc. Fry with a size of 5 cm begin to be predatory, and they have a tendency to cannibalism, like adults.

The normal development of pike eggs at the bottom in stagnant water is possible only because in spring, at low temperatures, the water is relatively highly saturated with oxygen, and as the water warms up, the oxygen concentration in it drops rapidly. Thus, the earlier pikes start spawning, the less eggs die.

If, after pike spawning, there is a rapid decline in water, this leads to mass death of eggs - this phenomenon is often observed in reservoirs, the level of which is unstable.

Life cycle

Pike in a public aquarium (Kotka, Finland)

Depending on the water temperature, the development of eggs takes 8-14 days, the larvae that hatch from it are 6.7-7.6 mm in length. As the residual bladder dissolves, the larvae switch to feeding on external resources: small crustaceans - cyclops and daphnia. With a length of 12-15 mm, pikes can already hunt the larvae of cyprinid fish. Spawning of cyprinids usually occurs after pike, which contributes to the nutrition of young pike. After the pike reaches a size of 5 cm, it completely switches to feeding on fry of other fish, mainly carps. If a pike of this size is kept in an aquarium and fed with small crustaceans, it will die, as the energy expended in foraging is not offset by the nutrients available in such prey.

In spring, pikes, along with melt waters, enter the flooded lakes. After some time, the connection of these reservoirs with the river is interrupted, and the life of fry that hatched under such conditions is very different from that in the river or large permanent reservoirs. Given the insufficient food resources, the growth of pikes here is extremely uneven, the difference in length between fish of the same age can vary by 2–2.5 times. Small individuals become prey for large ones, sometimes, with a special shortage of food resources, pikes 3-4 cm long already resort to this type of cannibalism.

It is interesting that such degenerate food chains, consisting only of pikes (when fry feed on plankton, large pikes feed on fry, and they, in turn, feed on even larger ones) are observed on a permanent basis in a number of reservoirs. This happens in the northern (usually tundra) lakes of Yakutia and Canada, where the amount of nutrients is extremely small, that is, not enough to support any complex food pyramid; in addition to scientific, such "pike lakes" are also described in fiction- for example, in the story of the Polish writer Arkady Fidler "Canada, smelling of tar."

At the same time, despite the extremely simplified structure of the food chain, the ecosystems of such reservoirs have been stable for centuries - in the bottom sediments and on the coast, researchers have not found any bone remains, except for pike, in such reservoirs; this is also confirmed by the folklore of the locals.

Lifestyle

In the reservoir, pike keeps in thickets of aquatic vegetation. Usually she keeps motionless there and, hiding, suddenly rushing at her prey. Caught prey is almost always swallowed from the head - if the pike grabbed it across the body, then before swallowing, it quickly turns the prey head into the throat. In addition to the fangs, with which the predator grabs and kills the prey, in the palate, tongue and partly on the cheeks of the pike there are brush teeth that can bend and take a horizontal position, with their points towards the pharynx. These sharp brush teeth are necessary for the pike not only to hold prey, but also to facilitate swallowing. When the victim tries to escape from the mouth, the teeth of the pike with their sharp ends rest against the prey and do not allow it to slip out, pushing it further into the throat.

When attacking, the pike orients itself with the help of vision and the lateral line, the organs of which are developed not only on the midline of the body, but also on the head (mainly on the front of the lower jaw).

The basis of pike nutrition is representatives of various fish species, which include: roach, perch, ruff, bream, silver bream, minnow, char, minnow, sculpin, etc. Pike does not disdain representatives of its own species. In spring and early summer, this predator willingly eats frogs and molting crayfish. There are cases when pikes grabbed and dragged ducklings under water, as well as mice, rats, sandpipers and squirrels that swim across rivers during their migrations. Large pikes can even attack an adult duck, especially during the molting period, when these birds do not rise from the water into the air. It is worth noting that the victims of pike are often fish, the length and weight of which reach 50%, and sometimes 65% of the length and weight of the predator.

Pike are prone to cannibalism, but individuals of equal size get along well.

The diet of medium-sized pikes, about half a meter, is dominated by numerous and low-value fish, so pike is a necessary component of rational fish farming on lakes; due to its absence in the lakes, the number of small ruff and perch sharply increases.

Significance for a person

Pike in the hands of a fisherman, Drava River, Hungary

In general, pike is quite widely bred in pond farms. For example, in France, out of a total pond area of ​​100,000 hectares, more than 50,000 are devoted to pike breeding.

Pike meat contains 2-3% fat and is a dietary product, especially if the fish comes for live consumption.

The maximum age of pikes in the commercial catch at the present time, as well as over the past few centuries, does not exceed 25 years. The catch of a 33-year-old pike has been reliably documented. Stories in popular literature about much older pikes should be categorized as legends.

Especially popular among stories of this type is the story of the “Heilbronn pike”, which was allegedly caught personally by Emperor Frederick II in October 1230, marked with a golden ring and released into Lake Bjöckingen near Heilbronn, where this pike was caught 267 years later, in 1497. At the same time, she reached a length of 570 centimeters and weighed 140 kg. The spine of this pike was deposited in the Cathedral of Mannheim.

This story aroused the interest of the German natural philosopher Oken. Oken studied the historical chronicle in detail and established that Frederick II at that time lived without a break in Italy and could not identify a pike in Germany in any way. It was also possible to examine the spine of a giant pike, exhibited in the Mannheim Cathedral. It turned out that this is a falsification, and that it is composed of the vertebrae of several separate pikes.

No less surprising is the story of the “pike of Tsar Boris Fedorovich” that took place in 1794, when a pike with a ring on the gill cover was caught while cleaning the Tsaritsyn ponds near Moscow. The inscription engraved on the ring read: "Tsar Boris Fedorovich planted." Since Boris Godunov ruled from 1598 to 1605, it means that the pike caught must have been about 200 years old. But today the veracity of this fact is disputed, since no evidence has been preserved.

In cooking

It goes on sale in a live, chilled, frozen and canned form. The meat is bony, sometimes smells like mud, contains 18.4% protein, 1.1% fat. Large and medium pike are most often used chopped (for fish cakes, meatballs) and stuffed, small (weighing about 200-300 grams) are boiled in a spicy broth: for 1 kg of fish 0.75 l of water, 1 root (carrot, parsley, celery), 1 onion, 3 black peas and 1 allspice pea, 1 bay leaf; everything is boiled together for 5-7 minutes, then the fish is put into the broth and boiled until tender (about 20 minutes), always on low heat, avoiding strong boiling, then the fish is taken out with a slotted spoon, laid out on a heated dish, sprinkled with parsley and served with boiled potatoes and butter. Small pike can also be fried, used for fish soup. In the middle of the 20th century, the British considered pike the most delicious and expensive fish. In some countries, to this day, pike dishes are considered a delicacy.

Fish caviar is very nutritious and healthy and is a delicacy.

In fishing

First of all, pike is promising for fishing because it feeds all year round and, accordingly, it can be caught all year round. As a trophy, it can reach a weight of over 10 kg, which is the weight of a trophy fish in the world. In addition, its resistance, like that of a fish, can bring a lot of adrenaline and pleasure, it is not for nothing that this fish belongs to the salmon order.

First, a riddle: the most famous predatory fish in Russian folk tales? Of course, pike. For some reason, there are many legends about this fish, although its habits and lifestyle have been studied very well. So what is known about her?

In the pike family, there is only one genus - “pikes”, and there are 5 species: common pike, American, black, Amur and maskinong pike. In length they grow up to 1.5 meters, weighing up to 35 kilograms, they live, if they are not caught, up to 25 years. They live mainly in fresh rivers and reservoirs, but sometimes come across in desalinated waters of the seas (where sea ​​water mixed with fresh and not so salty) only in the Northern Hemisphere. Pike was caught in the Baltic and Azov seas, although it is still a river fish. It is interesting that in the proverb “there is a pike in the sea so that the crucian does not doze off” both the pike and the crucian were ranked among the marine inhabitants.

The predator prefers quiet, calm water without a current. In anticipation of prey, it freezes in thickets of algae or under natural shelters - snags, stones. Attacks quickly and sharply; grabbing the fish across the body, always unfolds to swallow from the head. This habit is also reflected in Russian folklore: "Ruff and pike will not take from the tail." The task of grasping and holding is done well by the teeth in three rows located on the jaw. In pikes, the teeth on the lower jaw, unlike humans, are constantly changing - instead of one tooth, another from the next row immediately rises to replace it, at first unstable, gradually growing strongly in a new place. In addition to fangs, there are also toothbrushes on the palate, cheeks and even on the tongue - they are able to bend towards the pharynx to make it easier to push the captured food.

Pike fry first feed on very small crustaceans - daphnia and cyclops. Having reached a size of 3 centimeters, they begin to attack other fry, completely switch to predatory catching of other small fish with a length of more than 5 centimeters. Large specimens feed mainly on fish, more often small ones - ruff, roach, crucian carp, perch, gudgeon. There have been cases when pikes captured and ate frogs, ducklings, mice and even waders. Just as the wolf is considered to be the orderly of the forest, so the pike is the orderly of the reservoir, because, first of all, sick and weak individuals fall into her teeth and are destroyed. Set expression“letting a pike into the river” is akin to “letting a fox into a chicken coop” - since the pike does not allow other populations of small fish, such as ruffs, to breed too much in their reservoir.

For a person, pike meat is a delicacy and dietary product from which very tasty dishes are prepared. In the middle of the 20th century, the pike was considered by the British to be the most expensive fish. Fried, stuffed fish, fish soup, meatballs, in sour cream… The list is long. And even royal feasts used to be decorated with whole baked pike.

Option 2

Pike belongs to the pike family. Its habitat area: Eurasia, North America, as well as desalinated parts of the seas.

The size of the pike reaches a length of 1.5 meters, and a weight of up to 35 kilograms. The body of the fish is arrow-shaped, the head is significantly elongated, the lower jaw is significantly advanced forward. The teeth are used to grab prey and are of varying sizes. The eyes are located quite high, which helps to control the territory. The presence of a lateral line is a tactile organ that helps to respond to vibrations in the water. The body is covered with small scales. The color of the fish depends on its habitat. Pikes living in deep water are dark green in color. If the reservoir is not very deep, then, accordingly, the color is lighter.

Prefers, the predator hunts in ambush, patiently, waiting for the victim among the water thickets. When attacking, the pike suddenly makes a dash, grabs the prey by the head and kills. The predator's diet includes different kinds fish. Most often it is: perch, roach, gudgeon, bream, toad, crayfish. There are cases when a predator feasts on its own kind, or small ducklings, squirrels, rats and mice are pulled under water. Large pikes attack an adult duck during the molting period, when the bird does not rise from the water into the air.

Sexual maturation of the male pike begins by the age of 5, and for the female 1-2 years earlier. When the water temperature reaches 6 degrees, the fish starts spawning. The number of eggs depends on the size of the female. The female spawns about 200 thousand eggs, with a diameter of no more than 3 millimeters. Due to weak stickiness, caviar falls to the bottom. Depending on the warming of the water, the ripening period lasts up to 14 days. When the surrounding shell dissolves, the pike larvae that appear, no more than 8 millimeters long, begin to feed on copepods.

Due to its popularity, pike is considered a commercial fish that is actively bred in ponds. It is the subject of sport fishing, as well as amateur.

The meat of the predator is highly valued, it is considered dietary, due to the low percentage of fat content. In retail trade, preference is given to live sales.

On average, a pike lives 20-25 years.

And it belongs to the class of bony fish.

Habitat

It lives in the waters of Eurasia and North America. It can be rivers, ponds, lakes. Prefers a shoreline with rich aquatic vegetation, preferably rocks and snags, in which it likes to hide.

Appearance

The fish can reach a length of one and a half meters, and weigh 45 kg. She has a long strong body, a large head with a brightly protruding lower jaw. Fish scales perfectly mask the predator among the algae and make it almost invisible. The belly is white, and the sides and back are green-gray with brown speckles.

Depending on the habitat of the individual, the color of the color of the fish can acquire shades: yellow-green or gray-yellow back. The ventral and pectoral fins are yellow-orange, the rest are brown-yellow with dark spots. The mouth is large, the teeth are sharp and dangerous. On the lower jaw, the teeth are constantly replaced by new ones, throughout her life.

Food

It feeds on various fish, amphibians, and insects. May attack small waterfowl and their chicks. In times of famine, it can eat its relative, only smaller in size than itself.

Most often, the huntress waits in ambush, hiding among algae or snags, waiting for the victim, then pounces, grabbing it with her teeth. Food is always swallowed head first, if, say, a fish is located with its tail to the mouth of a pike, then it is sure to intercept it in the right order - head to the head of the predator.

Spawning

They go to spawn in early spring, as soon as the ice on the water melts. The female is surrounded by several males, they splash noisily in shallow water, beat with their tails, jump out of the water. At this time, they do not eat anything and become vulnerable themselves, pike can be caught with almost bare hands. The female will lay from 15,000 to 210,000 eggs, scattering them widely in the water. They settle on the leaves of algae or on the bottom. After a week or two, larvae appear, 7.5 mm long, and as soon as they acquire the ability to eat on their own, they immediately get down to business.

They feed on larvae of other fish and small crustaceans. When they grow up to 5 cm in length, they hunt for fish fry. What can you do, predators. It eats a lot, grows rapidly, and at the age of 4 months of life, the fry reaches a body length of 25 cm. In general, pikes benefit the reservoir in which they live, they are orderlies, eating sick and weak fish. After all, everyone knows that the strongest wins in the struggle for survival.