Which is a Prettier Esox Species - Tiger Musky or Esox Flaviae?

Esox cisalpinus is the scientific name for the southern pike, a freshwater fish native to central and northern Italy. Two research groups independently described the fish as a new species in 2011. Bianco & Delmastro's description was published first, and their name is the one that is accepted. Lucentini et al.'s description of Esox flaviae was published later and is considered a junior synonym

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The taxonomy of Esox lucius has remained unchanged since it was first described by Linnaeus in 1758, but as a result of this new insight which shows that the Italian pike are significantly different at phenotypic, genotypic and geographical levels, the new species Esox flaviae, the Southern pike has been proposed.

Until now it had been assumed that fish from south of the Alps were the same species, but the Italian teams research into the differing DNA of the two populations supports their theory that these southern fish are actually a entirely new species, and not simply a geographical variant, as samples from Northern European fish show them to be genetically more similar to American or Chinese populations than fish from Southern Europe.

The taxonomy of Esox lucius has remained unchanged since it was first described by Linnaeus in 1758, but as a result of this new insight which shows that the Italian pike are significantly different at phenotypic, genotypic and geographical levels, the new species Esox flaviae, the Southern pike has been proposed.

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