Look at this fish, it is so "dog" and so fragrant

The protagonist of today’s article is fish, a type of fish with a rather special name, called pike.

How "dog" is this? Yes, it is a fish, but it is really "dog"!

Why do we say that pike are very "dog-like"?

In terms of appearance, pike and dogs have little in common.

A slender and cylindrical body, a wide and flat mouth like a duck, and three strange fins gathered behind the body to provide strong explosive power for the long body - this is often the first impression a dogfish leaves on people.

The North American pike (Esox masquinongy) is the largest pike and looks fierce. Photo: fishfriender

Pike belongs to the family Pike in the order Pikes, and is a type of strong freshwater fish.

Why do I say "dog"? Because pike is a very voracious predator. Not only does it eat a lot, it is also an ambush hunter - it will suddenly sprint and grab nearby prey in one go.

Catch a frog in one bite

Image source: bioweb.uwlax.edu

Pike not only eats fish and shrimp swimming in the water, but also small mammals and water birds on the surface. If the pike is hungry, it will be even less picky - it doesn't even mind attacking its own kind of people of similar size.

Sometimes two dogfish get entangled in a fight, with each other involved, and finally both die, giving other animals the advantage.

A northern pike tries to swallow another northern pike, but the pike is too big and chokes it. Photo: keyassets.timeincuk.net

There is a legend about "pike eating people" circulating among the people in North America, which must be based on the greedy eating habits of pike.

If pike could grow a little bigger and thicker, maybe they wouldn't mind eating the naked apes swimming in the water? (bushi)

I can’t lift it anymore! I can’t lift it anymore!

Image from: fishing worldrecords

Various dogfish

The pike family is not large. There are seven species of pike in the world today, all living in the cold areas in the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere.

Like its distant relatives the salmon and trout, pike are indifferent to the prosperity of the tropics and have no interest in it at all.

Esox americanus is the smallest pike

Image source: nas.er.usgs.gov

There are two species of pike distributed in my country - white-spotted pike and black-spotted pike.

They are both pike, how to tell them apart?

Please guess the picture

The fish in the picture below is ____ spotted dogfish

Image from: fishbiosystem.ru

Congratulations, you got it right! The picture above is a black-spotted dogfish.

It's that simple - the spots on the black pike are black, and the spots on the white pike are white. Wow, I think I learned something amazing!

Moreover, you will not see white-spotted pike and black-spotted pike in the same place in my country. This is because white-spotted pike is only found in the Irtysh River in Xinjiang, while black-spotted pike is only distributed in the Heilongjiang River. It is a fish that lives in the Far East, and its westernmost distribution area in the world does not reach the longitude of Xinjiang.

In this way, as long as you know the origin, you can recognize even a piece of fish almost accurately.

Young northern pike: I am a baby, I cannot stand you talking about "fish chunks". Photo: strikeandcatch.com

If there was a "King of the North" among freshwater fish, it would probably be the northern pike.

Looking around the world, the northern pike has a vast distribution range covering the entire northern part of the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the most widely distributed freshwater fish in nature. It can be found along the Bering Strait coast in the easternmost part of Asia and in the Great Lakes region of North America.

The most common pike in my country

Image from: wiki

By the way, pike has a brother that is even more powerful than it - the family of mud pike. Unlike pike that are tens of centimeters or even more than one meter long, mud pike are small and low-key. Unless you are a person in the relevant field or a resident of the place of origin, few people know the existence of this group.

However, the Alaskan snakehead (Dallia pectoralis) of the family Dallia is famous because it can even survive in a frozen state! With such a special skill, it is not a problem for it to swim freely in the extremely cold waters of Alaska.

Alaskan snakehead, small but fierce

Image from: roughfish

Is pike delicious? How to eat it?

Northern pike prefer waters with abundant aquatic plants, but their strong adaptability allows them to be found in a variety of waters. Northern pike can even adapt to a certain salinity and are distributed almost throughout the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe.

Northern pike caught in the Baltic Sea

Image: pikepride.net

Moreover, white pike is not particularly afraid of heat. Even in the hot Guangdong and Guangxi of my country, we can still find pike in restaurants from time to time. What, restaurant?

Yes, we finally get to the topic you all care about most, food!

Braised Pike

In my country, the pike farming industry is also developing. The white pike is the main farmed pike species in my country. This big fish from the northern border has also entered all parts of the country. Pike is large in size, has delicate meat, and few bones. It is a high-quality edible fish.

However, since they like low temperatures, there are still some restrictions on their breeding in our country - pike is not common in the market in South China and the price remains high.

There are many ways to eat pike, such as grilling, air-drying, and frying. They are all delicious and tasty, each with its own flavor. If you haven't eaten it, remember to make an appointment to eat it next time you travel to Xinjiang!

Grilled Pike

The picture comes from the Internet

Fried Pike

Image from: Facebook

Dried dogfish

Image from: Xiachufang

Dog fish meatball soup

References:

[1]Campbell, MA, Larsen, A., Collins, J., & Collins, M. (2014). Winterkill of Alaska Blackfish (Dallia pectoralis) in Methane Discharging Lakes of Denali National Park's Minchumina Lake Basin. Northwestern Naturalist, 95(2), 119–125. doi:10.1898/nwn13-27.1

Written by | Luo Tengda

WeChat Editor | Happy

Source | Museum