Acipenseriformes

Sturgeons

Order recognized by
IUCN Red List Status: NOT EVALUATED external link Showing: scientific names

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Acipenseriformes

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Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771
Acipenser oxyrinchus Mitchill, 1815
Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758
Acipenser oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus
Acipenser fulvescens
Acipenser brevirostrum
Acipenser brevirostrum
Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758
Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758

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General Description

GeneralDescription

Source and Additional Information
Supplier
Animal Diversity Web external link
Copyright
©1995-2008, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors. Some rights reserved external link
Author
Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
Source URL
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Citation
Dewey, T. 2007. "Acipenseriformes" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed October 25, 2009 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Acipenseriformes.html. 

 

The paddlefishes and sturgeons group is a small order of fish that includes about 25 species in two families. This is an ancient fish lineage, dating to before the age of the dinosaurs. There are two species of paddlefish, one in North America and the other in China. There are about 23 species of sturgeons. Sturgeon species can grow to be huge, 4.2 meters (14 feet) or longer and up to 2000 kilograms in mass. Beluga sturgeon are the largest freshwater fish in the world. These are also long-lived fish, living 120 years or more. However, sturgeons have been widely and intensively used by humans for both meat and their roe (eggs), which is made into caviar. As a result most sturgeon species are at risk of extinction.

 
"Acipenseriformes". Encyclopedia of Life, available from "http://www.eol.org/pages/8300". Accessed 22 Mar 2010.