Category:Walleye

WALLEYE
Name:								           Average length: 15 inches           		Kingdom:	Animalia					Maximum length:42 inches (107 cm) Phylum:	Chordata					Average weight: 1.2 lbs Class:		Actinopterygii Order:		Perciformes					World record: 25 lbs. (11.3 kg) Family:	Percidas						42 inches (107 cm) Genus:		Sander						Life span: 29 years Species:	S. vitreus

Binomial name: Sander vitreus

Other names it goes by: yellow walleye, walleyed pike, yellow pike, pickerel

Where they live: lakes, slow-moving rivers, ponds, reservoirs

Walleyes are the state fish of Minnesota.

What they eat: Small fry eat zooplankton and fly larvae. After they become juveniles (40-60 days), they have a steady diet of yellow perch and ciscoes. Adults also feed on earthworms, minnows, leeches, and crayfish.

How it can be identified: -big, marble-like eyes (where its name comes from—large, glassy pupils that reflect light in the 	 inner part of the eye, enabling the walleye to see in very dark, murky, or turbid water) -large mouth with numerous sharp teeth -olive to dark gray in color with gold-flecked sides -five darker saddle type stripes extending to upper sides -dorsal and anal fins are spinous -operculum is spinous -golden to white shades on belly -white spot on lower tip of tail (caudal fin) - Life cycle: -adults migrate to tributary streams -eggs are laid on gravel or rock, sand, vegetation, reefs, or shoals -parents do not prepare nest and do not guard eggs or young -eggs hatch in 10-30 days -for about a week after hatching, the embryos absorb the yolk from the egg -small fry eat plankton and water fleas -after 40-60 days, they are piscivorous (fish eaters) and their diet consists of minnows and small perch -they are considered adult at 4-6 years old