Northern
pike are
most often
olive green,
shading into
yellow to
white along
the belly.
The flank is
marked with
short, light
bar-like
spots and
there are a
few to many
dark spots
on the fins.
Sometimes
the fins are
reddish.
Younger pike
have yellow
stripes
along a
green body,
later the
stripes
divide into
light spots
and the body
turns from
green to
olive green.
The lower
half of the
gill cover
lacks scales
and they
have large
sensory
pores on
their head
and on the
underside of
the lower
jaw which
are part of
the lateral
line system.
Unlike the
similar-looking
and closely
related
muskellunge,
the northern
pike has
light
markings on
a dark body
background
and fewer
than six
sensory
pores on the
underside of
each side of
the lower
jaw.
A hybrid between northern pike and muskellunge is known as a Tiger Muskellunge(Esox masquinongy x lucius or Esox lucius x masquinongy, depending on the sex of each of the contributing species). In the hybrids, the males are invariably sterile, while females are often fertile, and may back-cross with the parent species.[2] Another form of northern pike, the silver pike, is not a subspecies but rather a mutation that occurs in scattered populations. Silver pike, sometimes called silver muskellunge, lack the rows of spots and appear silver, white, or silvery-blue in color.
A hybrid between northern pike and muskellunge is known as a Tiger Muskellunge(Esox masquinongy x lucius or Esox lucius x masquinongy, depending on the sex of each of the contributing species). In the hybrids, the males are invariably sterile, while females are often fertile, and may back-cross with the parent species.[2] Another form of northern pike, the silver pike, is not a subspecies but rather a mutation that occurs in scattered populations. Silver pike, sometimes called silver muskellunge, lack the rows of spots and appear silver, white, or silvery-blue in color.