Esox niger

  • Scientific name

    • Esox niger (Lesueur, 1818)

  • Common name

    • Chain pickerel

  • Family

    • Esocidae

  • External links

    • Fishbase
Trait completeness 72%
Total data109
References16
Image of Esox niger

Author: Fabrice Téletchéa
License: All rights reserved

Traits detail

Egg (100.0%)

Trait id Trait Primary data Secondary Data References
1 Oocyte diameter 2 2.0 mm Coffie, 1998
1 Oocyte diameter About 2 2.0 mm Scott and Crossman, 1973
1 Oocyte diameter 2 [Not specified but seems unswollen] 2.0 mm Mittelbach and Persson, 1998
2 Egg size after water-hardening 2.25-2.95 [Mode 2.5] 2.6 mm Fishbase, 2006
3 Egg Buoyancy Demersal Demersal Coffie, 1998
3 Egg Buoyancy Initially demersal but become semibuoyant by the eyed stage Demersal Dombeck et al, 1984
3 Egg Buoyancy Demersal Demersal Scott and Crossman, 1973
3 Egg Buoyancy Eggs are demersal when first deposited, but apparently becoming semibuoyant to buoyant at eyed stage Demersal Fishbase, 2006
3 Egg Buoyancy Demersal Demersal Kunz, 2004
4 Egg adhesiveness Slightly adhesive Adhesive Coffie, 1998
4 Egg adhesiveness Temporarily adhesive, but lose this characteristic after water hardening Adhesive Dombeck et al, 1984
4 Egg adhesiveness Slightly adhesive Adhesive Scott and Crossman, 1973
4 Egg adhesiveness They are temporarily adhesive, but lose this characteristic after becoming water-hardened Adhesive Fishbase, 2006
4 Egg adhesiveness Adhesive Adhesive Kunz, 2004
4 Egg adhesiveness Adhesive Adhesive Wynne, 2006
5 Incubation time 6-12 9.0 days Coffie, 1998
5 Incubation time 6-12 9.0 days Scott and Crossman, 1973
5 Incubation time 6-12 9.0 days Anonymous, 2006
5 Incubation time 6-12 9.0 days Wynne, 2006
6 Temperature for incubation 10-17.2 13.6 °C Fishbase, 2006
7 Degree-days for incubation 70-110 [2.5 (17.20°C), 5.00 (14.40°C), 11.00 (11.00°C)] 90.0 °C * day Fishbase, 2006
2 Egg size after water-hardening 2.00 2.0 mm Scott and Crossman, 1998
5 Incubation time 6-12 9.0 days Underhill, 1949
5 Incubation time 7-10 8.5 days Armbruster, 1959

Larvae (86.0%)

Trait id Trait Primary Data Secondary Data References
8 Initial larval size 4.2-7 5.6 mm Coffie, 1998
8 Initial larval size 4.2-7.0 5.6 mm Scott and Crossman, 1973
8 Initial larval size 4.0-7.0 5.5 mm Mittelbach and Persson, 1998
9 Larvae behaviour The fry have an adhesive gland on the tip of the nose by witch they attch themselves to the substrate of surface scum Demersal Coffie, 1998
9 Larvae behaviour Possess a cephalic cement gland, used for attachment to macrophytes during yolk sac absorption Demersal Dombeck et al, 1984
9 Larvae behaviour They sink to the bottom where they attch themsleves to vegetation by an adhesive gland on the tip og the snout Demersal Scott and Crossman, 1973
9 Larvae behaviour Just-hatched chain pickerel fry attach themselves to plant stems during the absorption of yolk sac Demersal Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
9 Larvae behaviour Hatchlings sink to bottom and attach to vegetation by adhesive spot on snout and remain until able to begin active feeding (app. 1 week) Demersal Anonymous, 2006
9 Larvae behaviour Pickerel fry attach to the vegetationby an adhesive gland located on the snout Demersal Wynne, 2006
12 Sibling intracohort cannibalism The species is cannibalistic under certain conditions Present Coffie, 1998
8 Initial larval size 4.2-7.0 5.6 mm Scott and Crossman, 1998
8 Initial larval size 6.1 6.1 mm Underhill, 1949
10 Reaction to light photonegative Photophobic Underhill, 1949
12 Sibling intracohort cannibalism present Present Nilsson et al, 2014
12 Sibling intracohort cannibalism present Present Craig, , 2008
13 Full yolk-sac resorption 6-8 days 7.0 °C * day Underhill, 1949
14 Onset of exogeneous feeding 6-8 days 7.0 °C * day Underhill, 1949

Female (50.0%)

Trait id Trait Primary Data Secondary Data References
15 Age at sexual maturity 3-4 [Both sex] 3.5 year Scott and Crossman, 1973
15 Age at sexual maturity 3-4 [Female] 3.5 year Anonymous, 2006
16 Length at sexual maturity 38-46 [Sex not specified] 42.0 cm Coffie, 1998
16 Length at sexual maturity 37.2-42.3 [Both sex] 39.75 cm Anonymous, 2006
17 Weight at sexual maturity 0.4-0.7 [Sex not specified] 0.55 kg Coffie, 1998
18 Female sexual dimorphism Females appear to grow faster and live longer Absent Anonymous, 2006
18 Female sexual dimorphism Female fish grow faster and larger than males. Females also mature sooner and live longer than males Absent Wynne, 2006
19 Relative fecundity 30 30.0 thousand eggs/kg Mittelbach and Persson, 1998
20 Absolute fecundity 6-8 7.0 thousand eggs Coffie, 1998

Male (33.0%)

Trait id Trait Primary Data Secondary Data References
27 Age at sexual maturity 3-4 [Both sex] 3.5 years Scott and Crossman, 1973
27 Age at sexual maturity 2-4 [Male] 3.0 years Anonymous, 2006
28 Length at sexual maturity 38-46 [Sex not specified] 42.0 cm Coffie, 1998
28 Length at sexual maturity 37.2-42.3 [Both sex] 39.75 cm Anonymous, 2006
29 Weight at sexual maturity 0.4-0.7 [sex not specified] 0.55 kg Coffie, 1998

Spawning conditions (93.0%)

Trait id Trait Primary Data Secondary Data References
36 Spawning migration distance They don't travel far from their selected home areas, and they tolerate a wide temperature range No data Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
37 Spawning migration period Adults move into the spawning areas, soon after the ice is out No data Coffie, 1998
39 Spawning season April-May [Fall spawning has been observed] ['April', 'May', 'October', 'November', 'December'] Coffie, 1998
39 Spawning season Spring spawner [But in certain areas, spawns in fall] ['April', 'May', 'June', 'October', 'November', 'December'] Scott and Crossman, 1973
39 Spawning season March-April, [But from January to June] ['January', 'February', 'March', 'April', 'May', 'June'] Fishbase, 2006
39 Spawning season Spawn in early spring ['April', 'May', 'June'] Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
39 Spawning season April-May [Ice-out] ['April', 'May'] Anonymous, 2006
39 Spawning season During the period from April 10 to April 25 ['April'] Armbruster, 1959
40 Spawning period duration 1-1.5 1.25 weeks Coffie, 1998
40 Spawning period duration Lasts no more than 7-10 days 8.5 weeks Scott and Crossman, 1973
40 Spawning period duration Lasts about one week No data Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
41 Spawning temperature 2-22 (when ice melts) 12.0 °C Coffie, 1998
41 Spawning temperature 8.3-11.1 9.7 °C Scott and Crossman, 1973
41 Spawning temperature 8-11 9.5 °C Mittelbach and Persson, 1998
41 Spawning temperature In the high 40s to low 50s °F 40.0 °C Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
41 Spawning temperature 8.3-11.1 9.7 °C Anonymous, 2006
41 Spawning temperature Water temperatures ranged from a low of 36° to a high 73°F during the peirod from April 10 to April 25 36.0 °C Armbruster, 1959
42 Spawning water type Lakes and/or ponds over submerged vegetation Stagnant water Coffie, 1998
42 Spawning water type Flood benches of streams, lakes or ponds, very shrotly after the ice melts Stagnant water Scott and Crossman, 1973
42 Spawning water type Flooded benches of streams, lakes and ponds Stagnant water Anonymous, 2006
43 Spawning depth Shallow water (1 to 3 m) 3.0 m Coffie, 1998
43 Spawning depth 1 to 3 m deep [3-10 feet deep] 6.5 m Scott and Crossman, 1973
43 Spawning depth At depth of 3 to 10 feet 3.0 m Wynne, 2006
44 Spawning substrate Marshy areas or flooded benches No category Coffie, 1998
44 Spawning substrate Phytophils Phytophils Balon, 1975
44 Spawning substrate Over underwater weeds Phytophils Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
44 Spawning substrate Vegetation Phytophils Anonymous, 2006
44 Spawning substrate Over flooded vegetation Phytophils Wynne, 2006
44 Spawning substrate Spawning occurred over a mass of willow roots in vegetation Phytophils Armbruster, 1959
45 Spawning site preparation No nests are built [Eggs are shed over the substrate] Susbtrate chooser Coffie, 1998
45 Spawning site preparation No nests are built Open water/substratum scatter Scott and Crossman, 1973
45 Spawning site preparation Open water/substratum egg scatterers Open water/substratum scatter Fishbase, 2006
45 Spawning site preparation Open substratum spawner Open water/substratum scatter Balon, 1975
45 Spawning site preparation Scattered over underwater weeds Open water/substratum scatter Pennslylvania fishes, 2006
45 Spawning site preparation None No category Anonymous, 2006
45 Spawning site preparation Adhesive eggs are scattered over the vegetation Open water/substratum scatter Wynne, 2006
45 Spawning site preparation Eggs are distributed over relatively large area No category Ah-King et al, 2004
46 Nycthemeral period of oviposition Spawning usually takes place during the day Day Coffie, 1998
46 Nycthemeral period of oviposition Daytime Day Scott and Crossman, 1973
46 Nycthemeral period of oviposition Daytime Day Anonymous, 2006
46 Nycthemeral period of oviposition Spawning usually occurs during daytime Day Wynne, 2006
46 Nycthemeral period of oviposition The first spawning was seen at 9:45 A.M. on April 10 […] On April 11, spawning was noted at 5 P.M. Day Armbruster, 1959
47 Mating system Single females swim randomly over the submerged vegetation. closely accompanied by one or two males. From time to time the female and a male roll inward and flex their bodies to bring the vents into proximity No category Coffie, 1998
47 Mating system A single female, accompagnied by one or two usually smaller males, swims slowly about a random way No category Scott and Crossman, 1973
47 Mating system Eggs fertilized by one or two males No category Wynne, 2006
47 Mating system Group: communal spawning, one to three attendant males per female, female and male(s) swim in a meanderin patch Promiscuity Ah-King et al, 2004
47 Mating system Those spawning groups observed were comprised of only one male and one female. The fish swam side by side, weaving in and out among the vegetation. The male turned his ventral side toward the female and appeared to bum her. At this time the female turned her ventral side toward the male, and the eggs were laid with what appeared to be a lashing of their tails Monogamy Armbruster, 1959
48 Spawning release A single female may spawn several times over the course of one or two days until all eggs are shed Multiple Coffie, 1998
48 Spawning release Spawning act is carried out at various intervals over 1 or 2 days No category Scott and Crossman, 1973
49 Parity Chain pickerel live an average of 3 to 4 years but may attain age of 8 to 9 years under certain conditions No category Coffie, 1998
50 Parental care There is no parental care of the eggs No care Coffie, 1998
50 Parental care Nonguarders No care Fishbase, 2006
50 Parental care None No care Anonymous, 2006
50 Parental care No parental care No care Ah-King et al, 2004