The Mississippian monster, alligator fish, prehistoric monster, as well as the same age as dinosaurs, exotic fishing trophy and aquarium fish - all these epithets belong to the creature with many names, the most common of which is “alligator pike”. The photos of these monsters are impressive.
Lepistostedae
That is what the alligator pike is called in Latin. In scientific circles, an aquatic animal is known as the Mississippi carapace, or ganoid. And all because of bone scales in the form of rhombs, not overlapping each other, but covering the whole body of the fish like a shell. It is so durable that even a large spear or harpoon bounces off of it.
There is another name, which also means an alligator pike, - a garfish (due to the outward resemblance to the pikes of the Sarganov family). But, in fact, the Mississippi carapace has no phylogenetic relationship to pikes. The ancestors of the armored representative of the aquatic fauna appeared on the planet about 200 million years ago, long before the appearance of Bone fish. Since then, they have not changed much and give us the opportunity to touch the peers of the dinosaur era.
Appearance and etiology
Externally, the fish really look like a pike from our rivers - their dorsal and anal fins are also shifted back and the spindle-shaped body shape is similar. However, it is not in vain that this is an alligator pike: its head is equipped with powerful flat jaws with many small needle teeth, which makes it look like the head of a crocodile.
The length of the jaws can be 30-40 centimeters. In the homeland of fish, in the Mississippi River, it is often confused with alligators, seeing the shape of an animal underwater. But, despite such a “design” and impressive size (the fish grows up to 3 meters and weighs up to 150 kilograms), in the methods of hunting for prey, it, like pike, takes rapid and powerful ambush throws. By the way, usually an alligator pike leads a sedentary lifestyle, eating fish and crustaceans in the muddy water of the Big River. Larger individuals can enjoy birds and small mammals.
Fish are voracious and can eat constantly. Their stomach can stretch and hold up to 20 kg of food.
The color of the fish - from spotty and silver-green on the back to dairy on the belly - serves as an excellent disguise in muddy water and allows individuals to use another rather original way of getting food. The pike rises along the river, and then rafts down without movement. At the same time, the fishes take it for a log, as a result of a powerful and short throw, becoming the prey of a predator.
Biology features
Similarities with the alligator adds to the fish and its behavior during the heat. An alligator pike rises to the surface and captures air with a characteristic sound. The breathing peculiarity of these fish is associated with the structure of the swimming bladder, streaked with blood vessels and having a connection with the esophagus. Such an additional method of enriching the blood with oxygen allowed these ancient monsters to survive in the warm muddy water, where other fish die.
Shell pikes surprised biologists with the structure of visual analyzers. Their eyes are large, and their vision is sharp. But it is interesting that two types of proteins are involved in ensuring the perception of light, one of them is found exclusively in fish, and the other only in mammals.
Alligator pike (or the Mississippi shell) gave a surprise to geneticists. After decoding its genome, it turned out that the set of its genes is more diverse than that of evolutionarily young bone fish and mammals. This gave a new impetus to the study of the evolutionary branches of development of the animal world on the planet.
Habitat
The distribution boundary of the armored pike extends from Quebec, the waters of the Great Lakes and Mississippi, to Costa Rica and Southwest Cuba. These are primordially fresh-water fish, but they are capable of withstanding the stay in sea water. But the alligator pike reproduces only in fresh water.
Fishing
Alligator pike meat does not have nutritional value. When cooking, it becomes dry and very hard, while in the meat there are many small bones. It is rarely eaten - only the indigenous peoples of the Mississippi forests are an exception.
The insides, as well as caviar, are poisonous and even with inept cleaning can cause poisoning of the body. But the scales of armored pike and today is used for making jewelry and souvenirs. And exhibits made by skilled taxidermists serve as decoration for offices and houses of fishing anglers.
Exotic trophy
Currently, this giant is captured exclusively for exotic fishing. This is a welcome trophy for desperate anglers, because breaking a carapace and pulling out a fish weighing more than 100 kg from the water is not an easy task.
Hunting for a lance - an occupation for true extreme sportsmen! Catch it on top with a small release of the float on live bait. You can hunt year-round, but fishing without an experienced guide will most likely end in failure.
Invasion possibilities
The problem of invasion of alien species into the native ecosystem, mankind has encountered for a long time. Institutions for the study and prevention of risk factors are being created in the world. Cases of detection of this species in water bodies far from its habitats have already been recorded. So, in the Berezina River on the territory of Belarus, an alligator pike was caught. A similar case was recorded off the coast of Turkmenistan in the Caspian Sea.
The fact that in pet stores you can sometimes find those same armored pikes is alarming for Russian ichthyologists. Indeed, in the lower Volga and the Caspian lakes, these fish can find conditions suitable for reproduction (unless, of course, they can acclimatize in our area).
If you want an unforgettable fishing experience, head on to the Mississippi. And let the catch in the form of an alligator fish decorate the collection of achievements of an extreme fisherman!