Blue walleye facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sander vitreus glaucus |
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Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Percidae |
| Genus: | Sander |
| Species: |
S. vitreus
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| Subspecies: |
S. v. glaucus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Sander vitreus glaucus (Hubbs, 1926)
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The blue walleye (Sander vitreus vitreus), also called the blue pike, was a unique color morph (formerly considered a subspecies) of walleye which was endemic to the Great Lakes of North America. Morphometric studies led biologists to classify the blue walleye as a separate species in 1926, although it was later downgraded to a subspecies. Listed as an endangered species by the United States in 1967, it was declared extinct in 1983.
Genetic analyses conducted in the 21st century show that the blue walleye was not genetically different from the yellow walleye (Sander vitreus), rendering the taxon invalid.
Description
Sander vitreus "glaucus" also known as the "blue pike" is endemic to Lakes Erie and Ontario and co-occurred with Sander vitreus vitreus. It is compared to the walleye in many aspects however, the "blue pike" inhabits the deeper and cooler areas of Lake Erie but was also seen in shallow and warmer areas alongside the walleye. In comparison to the walleye the "blue pike" has a steel blue color, larger eyes placed bit higher than the walleyes eye placement, and the eye distance is smaller as well.
- Hubbs, Carl L. (1926). A Check-List of the Fishes of the Great Lakes and Tributary Waters, with Nomenclatorial Notes and Analytical Keys. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Special Publications No. 15. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan. 77 pp. + Plates I-IV. (Stizostedion glaucum, new species, pp. 58–59 + Plate IV, figure 2).
- Trautman, Milton B. (1981). The Fishes of Ohio. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University Press. 782 pp. ISBN: 978-0814202135. (Stizostedion vitreum glaucum, new combination).
