''Sander'' (formerly known as ''Stizostedion'') is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of predatory

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Percidae The Percidae are a family of ray-finned fish, part of the order Perciformes, which are found in fresh and brackish waters of the Northern Hemisphere. The majority are Nearctic, but there are also Palearctic species. The family contains more than ...

, which also includes the

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

es,

ruffe The Eurasian ruffe (''Gymnocephalus cernua''), also known as ruffe or pope, is a freshwater fish found in temperate regions of Europe and northern Asia. It has been introduced into the Great Lakes of North America, reportedly with unfortuna ...

s, and

darters The darters, anhingas, or snakebirds are mainly tropical waterbirds in the family Anhingidae, which contains a single genus, ''Anhinga''. There are four living species, three of which are very common and widespread while the fourth is rarer and ...

. They are also known as "pike-perch" because of their resemblance to fish in the unrelated

Esocidae Esocidae is a family of fish in the order Esociformes, which contains pike, pickerel, and mudminnows. While the family traditionally only contained the genus ''Esox'', recent genetic and paleontological research have recovered ''Novumbra'' and ' ...

(pike) family. They are the only genus in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

Luciopercini, which is one of two tribes in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Luciopercinae The Luciopercinae is a subfamily of ray-finned fish, classified within the Family (biology), family Percidae, the subfamily includes the pike-perches and zingels. The pike-perches of the genus ''Zander, Sander'' have an Holarctic distribution whi ...

Characteristics

''Sander'' species have elongated and laterally compressed bodies and they range in

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish ...

from in the Volga pikeperch (''S. volgensis'') to in the zander (''S. lucioperca''). The species within the genus share canine-like teeth that are at their largest in the zander, and although they are not present in adult Volga pikeperches, they do possess them as juveniles. in addition, they have thin rows of teeth on their jaws, vomer, and palatines, the preopercle shows strong serrations along its edges, a continuous

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

reaches all the way from the head to the

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

, and this is flanked by additional lateral lines, one each on the upper and lower lobes of the deeply forked

. Further features in common include the absence of genital papillae, seven or eight branchiostegal rays, 12–13 soft rays in the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

, and the eye has a reflective layer behind the

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

, known as a

tapetum lucidum The ''tapetum lucidum'' ( ; ; ) is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrates and some other animals. Lying immediately behind the retina, it is a retroreflector. It reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light a ...

, which is an adaptation for seeing in low-light conditions. The species in the genus ''Sander'' are largely

piscivorous A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...

as adults.

Species

The genus includes these species: * ''

Sander canadensis The sauger (''Sander canadensis'') is a freshwater perciform fish of the family Percidae that resembles its close relative, the walleye. The species is a member of the largest vertebrate order, the Perciformes.Jaeger, Matthew. 2004. Montana's F ...

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

, 1834 (sauger) * ''

Sander lucioperca The zander (''Sander lucioperca''), sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Percidae, which includes the perches, ruffes and darters. It is found in freshwater and brackish habitats in western Eurasia. It is a popul ...

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

(zander) * ''

Sander marinus ''Sander marinus'', the estuarine perch, also called sea pikeperch or sea zander, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Percidae which includes the perches, ruffes and darters. It is found in eastern Europe in the Black Sea and the Caspi ...

G. Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, 1828 (estuarine perch) * ''

Sander vitreus The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

'' Mitchill, 1818 (walleye) * ''

Sander volgensis The Volga pikeperch, or Volga zander (''Sander volgensis''), is a species of fish in the perch family Percidae. It is found in Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, and ...

J. F. Gmelin , fields = , workplaces = University of GöttingenUniversity of Tübingen , alma_mater = University of Tübingen , doctoral_advisor = Philipp Friedrich GmelinFerdinand Christoph Oetinger , academic_advisors = , doctora ...

, 1789 (Volga pikeperch)

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic relationships of the species of genus ''Sander'' based on the concatenated data set of six gene regions and a Bayesian analysis. ''

Romanichthys valsanicola ''Romanichthys'' is a genus of ray-finned fish, one of two genera in the tribe Romanichthyini, which along with the tribe Luciopercini, forms the subfamily Luciopercinae of the family Percidae, alongside the perches, ruffes, and darters. Th ...

'' is the nearest living relative of the genus ''Sander'' and is used as an

outgroup Outgroup may refer to: * Outgroup (cladistics), an evolutionary-history concept * Outgroup (sociology), a social group {{disambig ...

to root the tree. This is not universally accepted, though, and the

asprete ''Romanichthys'' is a genus of ray-finned fish, one of two genera in the Tribe (biology), tribe Romanichthyini, which along with the tribe Luciopercini, forms the subfamily Luciopercinae of the Family (biology), family Percidae, alongside the p ...

(''Romanichthys valsanicola'') has been more recently placed within the genus ''

Zingel ''Zingel'' is a genus of fish in the family Percidae. They are long and slender, reaching 12 to 48 cm in length. They are found in rivers and streams in Europe. They feed mainly on aquatic invertebrates such as crustaceans and insect larvae ...

''. Two

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

s are within the genus, a Eurasian one and a North American one, which separated from a common ancestor around 20.8 million years ago (Mya) in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

, when the North Atlantic Land Bridge connecting Europe to eastern North America subsided. The Eurasian clade then speciated from 13.8 Mya, while the two North American species speciated around 5.4 Mya.

References

External links

FishBase list of ''Sander'' species

UN: True Name for Pike Perch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sander (Genus) Luciopercinae Freshwater fish genera Freshwater fish of Europe