Karyotypic Characterization of the Pike, Esox Lucius From the South Caspian Sea Basin

The karyotype of pike from anzali lagoon in the south caspian sea basin have been investigated for the first time by conventional chromosome staining. the chromosomes spreads were stained with 7% giemsa solution for 15 min and examined under a light microscope. appropriate metaphase plates were photographed in order to prepare karyotype. all samples had a diploid number of 50 chromosomes (2n=50), with a karyotype consist of 12 metacentric, 24 submetacentric, 14 subtelocentric and fundamental number (nf) of 86. the largest chromosome in this species was a pair of metacentric chromosomes. based on type of chromosomes, the karyotype of this species was nearly differed with what that found in previous studies, which could be attributed to the existence of different populations for this species. despite the conserved diploid number, the data on the cytogenetic structure help characterize the karyotype of this species