muskellunge
Esox masquinongy Mitchill, 1824
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy)
Engbretson, Eric / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), often shortened to muskie, musky, ski, or lunge, is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae.
Wikipedia contributors, Muskellunge; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:40:30.058687+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Esox masquinongy Mitchill, 1824
- Name authority
- Mitchill, 1824
- Common name
- muskellunge
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Esociformes
- Family
- Esocidae
- Genus
- Esox
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderEsociformes
- familyEsocidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyEsocinae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusEsox Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesEsox masquinongy Mitchill, 1824
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Esox. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| chain pickerelEsox niger Lesueur, 1818 | EsocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Esox reichertii Dybowski, 1869 | EsocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Aquitanian pikeEsox aquitanicus Denys, Dettai, Persat, Hautecoeur & Keith, 2014 | EsocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Esox cisalpinus Bianco & Delmastro, 2011 | EsocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| northern pikeEsox lucius Linnaeus, 1758 | EsocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Esox nobilior Thompson, 1850 Thompson, 1850 | synonym |
| Esox masquinongy masquinongy Mitchill, 1824 Mitchill, 1824 | synonym |
| Esox (Esox) masquinongy Mitchill, 1824 Mitchill, 1824 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Mitchill, S. L. (1824). Masquinongy of the Great Lakes. Minerva, New York, v. 1 (no. 16): 297. [Minerva is a supplement to the New York Mirror.]. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3BHYM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.