The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...
in the pike
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
(family
Esocidae
Esocidae is a family of fish in the order Esociformes, which contains pike, pickerel, and mudminnows. While the family traditionally only contained the genus '' Esox'', recent genetic and paleontological research have recovered '' Novumbra'' and ...
) of
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
Esociformes
The Esociformes () are a small order of ray-finned fish, with two families, Umbridae and Esocidae. The pikes of genus ''Esox'' give the order its name.
This order is closely related to the Salmoniformes, the two comprising the superorder ...
. The chain pickerel and the
American pickerel
The American pickerels are two subspecies of ''Esox americanus'', a medium-sized species of North American freshwater predatory fish belonging to the pike family (genus ''Esox'' in family Esocidae of order Esociformes):
* Redfin pickerel, som ...
(''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox''
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
of pike.
[
]
Taxonomy
French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur
Charles Alexandre Lesueur (1 January 1778 in Le Havre – 12 December 1846 in Le Havre) was a French naturalist, artist, and explorer. He was a prolific natural-history collector, gathering many type s