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Sander vitreus

What do they look like?

The name walleye refers to the glassy, large pupils of this fish; light reflects from the back of their eyes, giving them a white, staring look. This eye-shine allows the fish to see extraordinarily well in darker waters. Both males and females look the same. Walleyes are long and slim; brownish-green or silver above to creamy white below with dark stripes. The lower lobe of the tail fin is white on the edge. Walleyes have huge mouths with long, pointed teeth. They have two dorsal fins on their back, with a large, noticable black spot at the bottom of the first fin.

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • sexes alike
  • Range mass
    2.0 to 10.0 kg
    4.41 to 22.03 lb
  • Range length
    107.0 (high) cm
    42.13 (high) in

Where do they live?

Walleye are native to the Nearctic Region. Walleye are abundant in many lakes and larger rivers over much of North America, from the Northwest Territories across Canada east of the Rocky Mountains to Labrador, southward along the Atlantic Coast to North Carolina, west to Arkansas, and north along the Missouri River. (Froese and Pauly, eds., 2002; Phillips, et al., 1982; Tomerelli, 1990)

What kind of habitat do they need?

The walleye lives its entire life in water. They prefer to live in deep lakes and rivers up to 27 meters deep, but will swim into shallow flats to feed during early evening and night. They like clear water and are only rarely found in brackish water.

  • Aquatic Biomes
  • lakes and ponds
  • rivers and streams
  • Range depth
    27.0 (high) m
    88.58 (high) ft

How long do they live?


How do they behave?

How do they communicate with each other?

What do they eat?

Walleye are strictly carnivorous, only eating animals. Young walleye eat microscopic organisms that drift in the water called zooplankton. As they get older, they mostly eat other fishes such as yellow perch and freshwater drum. Walleye also eat aquatic insects, crayfish, snails, and mudpuppies (a kind of salamander). They even eat small mammals when fish and insects are not available. Feeding occurs at night.

  • Primary Diet
  • carnivore
    • eats terrestrial vertebrates
    • eats non-insect arthropods

What eats them and how do they avoid being eaten?


What roles do they have in the ecosystem?


How do they interact with us?

The walleye supports a large fishing industry, particularly in the Central U.S. and Great Lakes area. Since the walleye is a native predator, it has also been used in conservation efforts to help control populations of other animals.

  • Ways that people benefit from these animals:
  • food
  • controls pest population

Are they endangered?


Some more information...



Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.









University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyNational Science Foundation

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Street, R. 2002. "Sander vitreus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed September 27, 2021 at


University of Michigan