Zander

Taxobox
name = Zander
status = LR/lc | status_system = IUCN2.3

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regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Percidae
genus = "Sander"
species = "S. lucioperca"
binomial = "Sander lucioperca"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)

Zander is a species of fish. The scientific name is "Sander lucioperca" (or "Stizostedion lucioperca"), and it is closely allied to perch. Zander are often called pike-perch as they resemble the pike with their elongated body and head, and the perch with their spiny dorsal fin. Zander are not, as is commonly believed, a pike and perch hybrid. In Europe, a second species ("Lucioperca wolgensis") is limited to rivers in southern Russia and the basin of the Danube.

The zander is a common and popular game fish in Europe: it is often eaten and may reach 20 kilograms in size. Typical catches, however, are considerably smaller, and most anglers are very happy with a fish of about 5 kg. The zander is not indigenous to the UK, but was introduced into the East Anglian broads (large partly artificial waterways) in the 20th century, and spread rapidly at the expense of native fishes. [British Waterways included zander among a "dirty dozen" non-native species most likely to harm native wildlife along rivers in Great Britain ( [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7559266.stm (BBC News) " 'Dirty dozen' threaten waterways", 14 August 2008] Accessed 14 August 2008).] .

Their success in establishing themselves is due to a number of factors, one of which is that they are particularly well adapted to life in the slow-flowing, sparsely vegetated, rather murky waters that comprise so many of the British lowland rivers ["Foreign Fishes", The Living Countryside magazine (issue 36), p.706 ] . And so, as Zander thrive in water with rather low visibility, pike often dominates the predator fish niche in clear water: pikes use their vision to find prey, while zander "listen" to the water, and are very active at night. However, they need plenty of oxygen and soon disappear from eutrophic areas.

Miscellaneous

In 2004, it was revealed that some restaurants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota in the United States were serving imported zander instead of the closely related North American walleye (the state fish, and a popular food in the region). While zander and walleye are almost indistinguishable by taste, the restaurants were selling the European fish under the name "walleye", which is considered an illegal practice. An investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration followed.

References

*
* Boyd Huppert (December 7, 2004). [http://kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=72386 Walleye or Zander? What Are You Really Eating?] . KARE.
* [http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=360 FishBase information on Zander]