Zander fish

Description

The zander (Sander lucioperca), sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the family Percidae, which includes the perches, ruffes and darters. It is found in freshwater and brackish habitats in western Eurasia. It is a popular game fish and has been introduced to a variety of localities outside its native range. It is the type species of the genus Sander. The zander is the largest member of the Percidae and it has a long, muscular body which bears some resemblance to a Northern pike (Esox lucius), hence the alternative English common name of pikeperch. Its upper part of the body is green-brown in colour and this extends onto the sides as dark vertical bars, in a pattern not dissimilar to that of the European perch (Perca fluviatilis) while the lower part of the body is creamy-white. The caudal fin is dark and the pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are paler off-white in colour. The dorsal and caudal fins are marked with rows of black spots on the membranes between the spines and rays, these are largest and most obvious on the first dorsal fin. The juveniles are silvery in colour, becoming darker as the age. They have powerful jaws which are armed with many sharp teeth with tow long canines in the front of each jaw. They have large bulbous eyes which are opaque when the fish is living in particularly turbid conditions, an adaptation to low light. There is a single flat spine on the operculum. Like other members of the perch family the zander has a split dorsal fin with the first dorsal fin having 13-20 spines and 18-24 soft rays, while the anal fin has 2-3 rays and 10-14 soft rays. The caudal fin is long and forked. The zander has a maximum published standard length 100 centimetres (39 in), although they are more commonly found at around 50 centimetres (20 in). This species can reach 20 kg (44 lb) of weight, although typical catches are considerably smaller. The IGFA All-Tackle world record zander was caught in Lago Maggiore, Switzerland in June 2016 weighing 11.48 kg (25.3 lb). Zander reach an average length of 40–80 cm (15.5-31.5 in) with a maximum length of 120 cm (47 in). The zander is very widely distributed across Eurasia, occurring in the drainages of the Caspian, Baltic, Black, Aral, North and Aegean Sea basins. Its northern distribution limit is Finland.