The redfin pickerel (''Esox americanus americanus'') is a subspecies of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of ...

belonging to the pike family (

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 ' ...

) of the order Esociformes. Not to be confused with its close relatives, the grass pickerel and the

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy Fren ...

, this fish is unique in the fact that it has brightly colored red fins. Like all pikes, the redfin pickerel is an

ambush predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey ...

, lying amongst thick

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characte ...

in wait for smaller, more agile

prey Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...

to enter within its range of attack.

Distribution and habitat

The redfin pickerel can be found in freshwater lakes, streams, and swamps along the Atlantic slope. Stable

populations Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

extend from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

's Okeechobee Lake, and west into Gulf drainages up to Mississippi's

Pascagoula River The Pascagoula River is a river, about 80 miles (130 km) long, in southeastern Mississippi in the United States. The river drains an area of about 8,800 square miles (23,000 km²) and flows into Mississippi Sound of the Gulf of Mexic ...

. Because the redfin pickerel is an ambush predator, the fish prefers freshwater habitats with high visibility and dense vegetation or decaying organic matter in which to hide itself.

Physiology

The redfin pickerel, like other fish of the Esox genus, is well adapted to sprint

predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

. The posterior positioning of the unpaired fins is testament to this, the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

lining up with the anal fin, and the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

more rearward than would be found on other fish body types. The pectorals are shrunken to

streamline Streamline may refer to: Business * Streamline Air, American regional airline * Adobe Streamline, a discontinued line tracing program made by Adobe Systems * Streamline Cars, the company responsible for making the Burney car Engineering * ...

the fish, while 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 ...

is rather large so as to provide considerable

thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that sys ...

. Further

adaptations In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the ...

correlating with their rushing style is a

hydrodynamic In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including '' aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) a ...

tube shaped body, a flat nose, and an unadorned head. The redfin pickerel relies heavily on vision to locate prey, as indicated by their large eyes and propensity for clear, shallow water. The scale coloration of the fish typically ranges from green to brown on the

lateral Lateral is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Healthcare *Lateral (anatomy), an anatomical direction * Lateral cricoarytenoid muscle * Lateral release (surgery), a surgical procedure on the side of a kneecap Phonetics *Lateral co ...

portion, while the

side ranges from white to a pale amber. Vertical streaks of dark green line the lateral sides of these fish. This coloration is vital for hunting, as it allows the pickerel to

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

within the vegetation as it waits for prey to approach. The mouth of the fish is located at the terminal position anterior of the snout and is lined with a series of long, conical teeth that can be used to capture fast moving prey. Unlike its larger northern relatives, the redfin pickerel grows to around twelve inches in length.

Life cycle

Spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

typically occurs in the spring, spanning from late February to early May, with fish in warmer waters breeding earlier in the year than those that live in colder waters. In order to breed, these solitary fish will leave the rivers and lakes they live in to meet others of their kind in small streams that range from to . The redfin pickerel engages in a

polyandrous Polyandry (; ) is a form of polygamy in which a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. Polyandry is contrasted with polygyny, involving one male and two or more females. If a marriage involves a plural number of "husbands and wive ...

style of mating, in which one female scatters her

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

among the vegetation while multiple males will release their

milt Milt is the seminal fluid of fish, mollusks, and certain other water-dwelling animals which reproduce by spraying this fluid, which contains the sperm, onto roe (fish eggs). It can also refer to the sperm sacs or testes that contain the seme ...

in the water surrounding it. The parents abandon the area soon after, leaving their young to fend for themselves. After hatching within a range of roughly 12 to 14 days, the larval pickerel will

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

together for protection. Upon reaching

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definit ...

after two years, the fish will adopt a solitary lifestyle. They can be expected to live for five years, though some specimens have been documented to survive for eight years.

Diet

The redfin pickerel is an ambush predator, lying in wait for unsuspecting prey animals to get within striking range. The pickerel fills the role of

apex predator An apex predator, also known as a top predator, is a predator at the top of a food chain, without natural predators of its own. Apex predators are usually defined in terms of trophic dynamics, meaning that they occupy the highest trophic lev ...

in its small, shallow,

aquatic environment An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The ...

, feeding on smaller fishes, crayfish, and insect larvae. The newly hatched larvae meanwhile will feed on the larvae of other spawning fishes and insects.

Ecological concerns

The redfin pickerel sits comfortably in a position of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

as determined by the ICUN. Despite this rating, the fish is still threatened by rampant environmental degradation. Threats from

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

are ever present with the continued drainage of wetlands and the building of dams drying up extraneous streams, but scientist have also noticed a heavy threat of

biomagnification Biomagnification, also known as bioamplification or biological magnification, is any concentration of a toxin, such as pesticides, in the tissues of tolerant organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain. This increase can occur as a ...

of metals in the species and in the surrounding community. The redfin pickerel is the top predator of its area, meaning it faces the greatest danger from toxin exposure. As it eats smaller fish and other animals that have been exposed to harmful substances, the chemicals, particularly environmental mercury, build up in the tissues of the pickerel. If the fish is then eaten by a bird or human, the prospect of mercury poisoning could be a serious threat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:pickerel, redfin redfin pickerel Fauna of the Northeastern United States Freshwater fish of the Southeastern United States redfin pickerel redfin pickerel Freshwater fish of North America