Northern pike

Esox lucius · The northern pike is a carnivorous freshwater fish found across the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, Russia and North America.

Also called Jackfish.

Northern pike
Photo: Jik jik, CC BY-SA 3.0
Northern pike
Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0
Northern pike
Photo: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderSalmoniformes
FamilyEsocidae
GenusEsox
SpeciesEsox lucius

Where it lives

Cool lakes and rivers of Europe, Siberia, Alaska, Canada and the Great Lakes states.

Fun facts

  • Pike are ambush hunters that can lie perfectly still for long periods and then burst forward with remarkable acceleration to strike.
  • A pike grabs its prey sideways, holds it with sharp backward-pointing teeth, then flips it to swallow it headfirst.
  • Pike have been known to attack big water birds, and one was seen trying to drown and eat a great crested grebe in 2016.
  • The all-tackle world-record northern pike weighed 25 kg (55 lb) and was caught in Germany in 1986.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).