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Zander (Sander lucioperca)

Zander Synonyms: Perca lucioperca, Centropomus sandat, Lucioperca sandra, Lucioperca linnei, Lucioperca pepinus, Lucioperca lucioperca

Description: Introduced in the late 1970s in New York for sport fishing.

Identification: Elongate and pointed snout. Upper jaw extends past eye level, small teeth with several large fangs in front. 2 dorsal fins, the first spiny and separated by a narrow space from the second. Anal fin with 2-3 spines and 11-13 soft rays. Greenish-grey or brown on the back and sides becoming lighter on the lower sides and white on belly. 30-70 cm long and 12-18 kg.

Habitat: Native from Europe to western Siberia. Prefers freshwater lakes, moderately running waters and brackish coastal waters.

Reproduction: Males are territorial and excavate shallow depressions about 50 cm in diameter and 5-10 cm deep in sand or gravel. or among exposed plant rrots on which eggs are deposited, usually in turbid water and at 13 m depth. Spawn in pairs at dawn or night. Females spawn once a year, laying all eggs at once.

Impact and Damage: Reduction in populations of prey fish and competitor fish, as well as trophic changes, and in some cases, extirpation of endemic species.

Credits: The information provided in this factsheet was gathered from the Fishbase and the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Individual species images that appear with a number in a black box are courtesy of the Bugwood.org network (http://www.invasive.org).Individual photo author credits may not be included due to the small display size of the images and subsequent difficulty of reading the provided text. All other images appear courtesy of Google (http://images.google.com).


Common Name:

Zander

Scientific Name:

Sander lucioperca

Family:

Percidae
(Perch)

Habit:

Fish