Pike
From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science
| Pike |
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| Scientific Classification |
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| Species |
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Pike like all other water dwelling creations was created on the fifth day of creation. Pike are the vicious hunters with their very name-meaning pix-axe [1].
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Anatomy
Pikes are between 18”-6’[2] and weigh up to 35 kilograms [3]. Pike have a long narrow body with a rear dorsal fin, a pointy nose and lots of teeth [4]. Pike are generally long and cylindrical with their nose tapering to a missile point. Each fin is small and located near the posterior of the fish or on the ventral side of its body.
Chain pickerel
The chain pickerel weighs form sixteen to thirty two ounces and about seventeen inches long [5]. Some distinguishing markings are the green and bronze coloring and a dark bar underneath each eye [6]. Chain pickerel lay their eggs early so that their young may feed upon the young of other fish whom lay their eggs latter [7].
Northern Pike
Northern pike may grow to over forty pounds [8]. A distinguishing feature of the northern pike is that the bottom half of the gill slits are scaleless [9]. Their coloration scheme is dark green and brown [10]. Northern pike spawn in flooded marshes just after the ice melts [11].
Reproduction
Pikes reproduce sexually, through spawning. But, the temperature must be between 34-40 degrees Fahrenheit for this to occur[12]. It takes 12-14 days for the pike to hatch, and by Fall are about six inches but will only reach sexual maturity after three years [13]. Unlike other fish, pike give no protection or parental guardianship to their young [14].
Ecology
Pike live in shallow clear waters along with streams with few weeds in both[15]. Even in catch and release fishing, pike have been known to be vicious.
[16] Pike are important to their invoroment. They keep other fish population down so there is not too much impact on the floraor other finely tuned balnces in the aquatic relm. Suprisingly, pike are a self regulating species, they do this by eating smaller pikes.
The Food Chain
Pike are carnivorous and they eat a wide variety of food. They consume 3 to 4 time their weight in a year [17] and may swallow fish a third their own length [18]. The main things that eat pike are humans and other pike.
Pikes normally prey on insects and smaller fish such as minnows and perch along with other pike [19] but mostly favoring cylindrically shaped fish [20]. Strangely, 20% of pike's diet consists of cannibalized pike [21]. They will even eat fowl and water logged mammals such as baby ducks and mice or other rodents. [22].
Gallery
 Volker Barth took a picture of this redfin pickerel |
 Norehearsal took this pictrue of looks like either a grass pike or a mulskellunge |
 A-Benn took this picture of this chain pickerel |
Related References
- Pike By multiple Authors. Wikipedia
- Esox lucius Northern Pike By Earl J.S. Rook. The natural history of the northwoods
- Sport and Fish Pike Page Author Unknown assumed to be Dan Bosch. Sport fish division ADF&G
- The Pike of New York by State of New York. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
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