Chinese sturgeon
| Chinese sturgeon | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acipenseriformes |
| Family: | Acipenseridae |
| Genus: | Acipenser |
| Species: | A. sinensis |
| Binomial name | |
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Acipenser sinensis J. E. Gray, 1835 |
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The Chinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis; Chinese: 中华鲟; pinyin: zhōnghuá xún) is a critically endangered member of the family Acipenseridae in the order Acipenseriformes. Historically, this anadromous fish was found in China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula, but it has been extirpated from most regions due to habitat loss and overfishing.
It is strictly protected by the Chinese government, named a "national treasure" much like its mammalian counterpart, the giant panda. China has several conservation programmes, including reserves specifically aimed at this species and restocking through release of juveniles in the Yangtze River.
Sturgeon are comparatively basal species of fish, whose earliest fossils date back to the Cretaceous period. They are best known members of the bony fish taxon Chondrostei, a group of bony fishes that have cartilaginous skeletons superficially similar to the skeletons seen in the unrelated chondrichthyan fishes. In Qing Dynasty Chinese cuisine, its meat and cartilaginous skeleton was often cooked and served together, and considered a delicacy.
Adult Chinese sturgeon can range between 2 and 5 m (79 and 197 in) in body length, and weigh between 200 to 500 kg (440 to 1,100 lb), ranking them among the largest sturgeon in the world. Its head is acuminate, with the mouth under its jaw.
Most sturgeon spawn in fresh water and migrate to salt water to mature. The Chinese sturgeon can be considered a large freshwater fish, although it spends part of its lifecycle in seawater, like the salmon, except Chinese sturgeon spawn multiple times throughout their lives.
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Wikipedia