Harman Patil (Editor)

Esociformes

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Superorder
  
Protacanthopterygii

Lifespan
  
Northern pike: 7 years

Rank
  
Order

Phylum
  
Chordata

Scientific name
  
Esociformes

Higher classification
  
Protacanthopterygii

Esociformes wwwzoofirmaruimagesknigi0998110jpg

Mass
  
Northern pike: 16 kg, Muskellunge: 17 kg

Lower classifications
  
Esox, Umbridae

The Esociformes are a small order of ray-finned fish, with two families, the Umbridae (mudminnows) and the Esocidae (pikes). The pikes of genus Esox give the order its name. The 10 species are found as five in each family.

Contents

Esociformes Palaeos Vertebrates Euteleosti Neognathi

This order is closely related to the Salmoniformes, the two comprising the superorder Protacanthopterygii, and are often included in their order. The esociform fishes first appeared in the mid-Cretaceous — early products of the Euteleost radiation of that time. Today, they are found only in fresh water in North America and the northern Eurasian regions.

Esociformes Palaeos Vertebrates Euteleosti Neognathi Umbra amp Dallia

Esocidae

Esociformes ADW Esociformes PICTURES

The pikes tend to be lie-in-wait, ambush predators, with elongated snouts, long, well-muscled torsos, forked tails, and dorsal and anal fins set well back and opposite each other for rapid acceleration along a straight line, allowing the fish to quickly emerge from cover to capture their prey. Prey capture is facilitated by the impaling of the prey animal on the sharp teeth, after which the pike retreats to cover, turns the prey around, and swallows it, head first.

Esociformes Esociformes Images and Stock Photos 12 Esociformes photography and

Anatomically, the pikes are characterized by the presence of shark-like, maxillary teeth, a mesocoracoid, and the absence of an adipose fin, breeding tubercules, and pyloric cecae.

The two more prominent species of Esocidae are Esox lucius, the northern pike, a popular sport fish that may reach lengths as great 1.5 m (4.6 ft), and the muskellunge or "muskie", E. masquinongy, which grows even larger.

Umbridae

Mudminnows are much smaller than the related pikes, with usual lengths of less than 20 cm. However, they are also extremely efficient, lie-in-wait, ambush predators, feeding mostly on the invertebrates commonly found in warm backwaters. Of the three North American species of genus Umbra, one, U. limi, possesses a limited capability for air breathing. Umbra spp. are most commonly found in the Atlantic coast regions of North America, along the marshy, low-oxygen areas of the Mississippi River, and in similar environments in Europe.

References

Esociformes Wikipedia