Walleye

This article is about the fish. For other uses, see Walleye (disambiguation).

Walleye
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Percidae
Subfamily: Luciopercinae
Genus: Sander
Species:
S. vitreus
Binomial name
Sander vitreus
(Mitchill, 1818)
Synonyms[2]
  • Perca vitrea Mitchill, 1818
  • Stizostedion vitreum (Mitchill, 1818)
  • Lucioperca americana Cuvier, 1828
  • Lucioperca grisea DeKay, 1842
  • Stizostedion glaucum Hubbs, 1926

The walleye (Sander vitreus, synonym Stizostedion vitreum), also called the walleyed pike,[3] yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel,[4] is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relative of the European zander, also known as the pikeperch. The walleye is sometimes called the yellow walleye to distinguish it from the blue walleye, which is a color morph that was once found in the southern Ontario and Quebec regions, but is now presumed extinct.[5] However, recent genetic analysis of a preserved (frozen) 'blue walleye' sample suggests that the blue and yellow walleye were simply phenotypes within the same species and do not merit separate taxonomic classification.[6]

In parts of its range in English-speaking Canada, the walleye is known as a pickerel, though the fish is not related to the true pickerels, which are members of the family Esocidae.[7] It is also sometimes called a dory in British English (and its common name in French is the similar doré—meaning golden or gilded), although this name is also used for various other species.[8]

Walleyes show a fair amount of variation across watersheds. In general, fish within a watershed are quite similar and are genetically distinct from those of nearby watersheds. The species has been artificially propagated for over a century and has been planted on top of existing populations or introduced into waters naturally devoid of the species, sometimes reducing the overall genetic distinctiveness of populations.

  1. ^ NatureServe (2013). "Sander vitreus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T202605A18229159. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202605A18229159.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Sander vitreum". FishBase. December 2019 version.
  3. ^ "Merriam-Webster Dictionary".
  4. ^ "Ontario Freshwater Fishes Life History Database Species Detail".
  5. ^ "Le doré bleu existe!". lapresse.ca. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  6. ^ Haponski, Amanda E.; Stepien, Carol A. (2014). "A population genetic window into the past and future of the walleye Sander vitreus: relation to historic walleye and the extinct "blue pike" S. v. "glaucus"". Giornale della Libreria. 14 (1): 133. Bibcode:2014BMCEE..14..133H. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-14-133. PMC 4229939. PMID 24941945. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
  7. ^ Crossman, E.J. "Walleye – The Canadian Encyclopedia". Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  8. ^ "Definition of 'dory'". Collins. Retrieved 19 November 2024.