36 THE PIKES: DISTRIBUTION AND COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE. 



BANDED PICKEREL (Esox americanus). 

 GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. 



This little fish has a somewhat more restricted geographical dis- 

 tribution than the eastern pickerel. Its stated range (Jordan and 

 Evermann, 1896) is from Massachusetts to Florida in lowland streams 

 and swamps. It is found only east of the Allegheny Mountains, the 

 westernmost record being from Escambia River at Flomaton, Ala. 

 It may be added, the northernmost locality from which it has been 

 reported is Lake Bomessen, Vt. (Kendall, 1908). Whether it is indig- 

 enous there the writer is not informed. 



NAMES. 



Bean (1902) said that it is probably identical with the "mackerel 

 pickerel" of Mitchill. Storer (1853) called it the "smaller pickerel," 

 and it is referred to as the troutnose pickerel. Herbert (1849) and 

 others mention it under the name of Long Island pickerel. Smith 

 (1907) cited pike, red-finned pike, and jack as North Carolina names. 



FIG. 5.— BANDED PICKEREL {Esox americanus). 

 SIZES. 



Most references state that it rarely exceeds a foot in length or it 

 rarely exceeds a pound in weight. Herbert (1849) said that a pound 

 was greatly above the average weight, which was probably not more 

 than one-half pound. 



HABITAT AND HABITS. 



Habitat. — The local habitat of this species is in general essentially 

 the same as that of the eastern pickerel. It is found in shallow water 

 amongst water plants, etc. 



Bean (1902) said that it is especially plentiful in certain tidal 

 creeks of Long Island, and Eugene Smith reports that it is often 

 found in brackish water in the vicinity of New York, where it is 

 brown in color. 



Herbert (1849) described an individual which he stated was caught 

 in a net in the salt water of Newark Bay. He wrote that it weighed 

 something over a pound and a half and that it was in the finest con- 

 dition. Its color, however, was remarkable, for the back and sides 



