Karyotypes of the Teleost Family Esocidae

Abstract

Representatives of all five surviving species in the teleost family Esocidae, including pikes, pickerels, and muskellunge, and two interspecific hybrids were found to have karyotypes consisting of 50 acrocentric chromosomes. The karyotypic similarity suggests a cytological basis for the ease of hybridization observed among most members of this family and shows that speciation can occur without karyotypic change. Evolutionary implications are discussed.