chain pickerel
Esox niger Lesueur, 1818
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The chain pickerel (Esox niger), also known as Jackfish, Mud Pike, or Southern Pike 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.
Wikipedia contributors, Chain pickerel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:10:01.862135+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Esox niger Lesueur, 1818
- Name authority
- Lesueur, 1818
- Common name
- chain pickerel
- 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 niger Lesueur, 1818
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| muskellungeEsox masquinongy Mitchill, 1824 | EsocidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Esox reticulatus Lesueur, 1818 Lesueur, 1818 | synonym |
| Esox (Kenozoa) niger Lesueur, 1818 Lesueur, 1818 | 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.
- Lesueur, C. A. (1818). Description of several new species of the genus Esox of North America. Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, v. 1 (pt 2): 413–417. 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:3BHYN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.