Key Identification Features
- In Italy, the newly identified species Esox cisalpinus ("southern pike") was long thought to be a color variation of the northern pike, but was announced as its own distinct species in 2011.
- They have a distinctive habit of catching prey sideways in the mouth, immobilizing it with sharp, backward-pointing teeth, then turning the prey headfirst to swallow it.
- In summer, individual muskellunge establish two distinct home ranges: one shallow and one deep.
- Chain pickerel (scientific name Esox niger Lesueur, 1818) has a distinctive dark chain-like pattern on its greenish sides.
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