Siberian sturgeon | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Acipenseriformes |
Family: | Acipenseridae |
Genus: | Acipenser |
Species: | A. baerii |
Binomial name | |
Acipenser baerii J. F. Brandt, 1869 |
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Subspecies | |
A. baerii baerii |
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Synonyms | |
A. baerii stenorrhynchus Nikolskii, 1896 |
A. baerii baerii
A. baerii baicalensis Nikolskii, 1896
A. baerii stenorrhynchus Nikolskii, 1896
The Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii) is a species of sturgeon in the Acipenseridae family. It is most present in all of the major Siberian river basins that drain northward into the Kara, Laptev and East Siberian Seas, including the Ob, Yenisei (which drains Lake Baikal via the Angara River) Lena, and Kolyma Rivers. It is also found in Kazakhstan and China in the Irtysh River, a major tributary of the Ob. The species epithet honors the German Russian biologist Karl Ernst von Baer.
Siberian sturgeon is typically divided into two subspecies. However, recent studies suggest they may be monotypic, forming continuous genetically connected populations throughout their vast range.
The nominate taxon (A. b. baerii) accounts for 80% of all Siberian sturgeon and resides in the Ob River and its tributaries. This subspecies migrates to mouth of the Ob during the winter due to seasonal oxygen deficiency, and swims thousands of kilometers upstream to spawn.