Esox lucius x Esox masquinongy
Species overview: The tiger muskellunge, or tiger musky, is the result of crossbreeding the male northern pike with the female muskellunge under fish culture conditions, although hybrids do occasionally occur in the wild. Tiger muskies have “hybrid vigor.” They are hardier and faster-growing than their purebred parents, and they respond better to hatchery-raising. Tiger muskies are also easier to catch than purebred muskellunge, having more of the eagerness to bite anglers’ baits and lures of their northern pike parent. However, because they are more easily caught, they don’t live as long as regular muskies, so they don’t attain the muskellunge’s great size.
Identification: The tiger musky has strong, vertical or slanting barring on its sides, more pronounced than the markings on a purebred muskellunge. Its general color is dark gray-green on the back, a lighter green on the sides, with dark, equally spaced side bars giving the fish its “tiger” name. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins are spotted or streaked with black, and the belly is off-white. The body of the tiger musky may look more plump than a purebred’s, because it tends to be shorter and more robust. Scalation on the cheek is intermediate between the northern pike, with a fully scaled cheek, and the muskellunge, which has scales on the upper half of the cheek. About the upper two-thirds of the tiger musky’s cheek is scaled. The number of pores beneath one side of the lower jaw is six or seven.
Habitat: The tiger musky is stocked in suitable waters, large reservoirs and rivers, throughout Pennsylvania. It tends to be more of a wanderer than its parents, moving about in its home waters.
Life history: The male tiger musky is sterile, so natural reproduction among individuals does not occur. This gives fisheries management personnel much control over the number of these predators in a given waterway. Tiger muskies are produced for stocking by mixing of eggs and milt of the fish’s muskellunge and northern pike parents. Their food preferences are similar to those of their relatives. Fish are their favorite meal.
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