Origin and Morphology PDF Print E-mail
The European sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) could be described as being a living fossil.  It belongs to the Order Acipenseriformes that appeared on Earth around 400 million years ago during the Devonian period.  This Order comprises three families:

- the Chondrosteidae, which is now extinct
- the Polyodontidae, also known as paddlefish, are represented by two species : the American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), to be found in the Mississippi River and the Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) which lives in the Yangtze River.  Several other genera are today extinct.  Polyodontidae3
- the Acipenseridae with 26 species of sturgeon, all of which are threatened with extinction, is present in the wild only in the Northern hemisphere, and belongs to the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus.
 Acipenseridae3
The Acipenseridae appeared in Europe over 200 million years ago and rapidly diversified across Asia.  They are one of the oldest families of bony jawed fish (Gnathostomata) that exist today.  The majority of the species live in the Ponto-Caspian region, in North America, south-eastern Asia and in Siberia.

Eeuropeen

The body of the European sturgeon is elongated and covered with 5 longitudinal rows of bony plates.  Its cartilaginous skeleton is partly ossified and the caudal fin is heterocercal (asymmetric).
The back is greyish-brown with green reflections and the belly is yellowish with silver reflections.  The mouth is a protrusile tube and 4 sensitive barbels are positioned under the snout.  The European sturgeon can reach a total length of 3.5m (12 feet) and weigh up to 170kg.

The European sturgeon, the wild migratory species that is native to Europe and France, is not the only species of sturgeon to be found in France today.  Even though their presence is regulated and only authorised in closed basins (ornamental pools, stretches of water and fish breeding farms), some new species have been accidentally or intentionally introduced into French open waters.  However, the Siberian sturgeon ( Acipenser baerii) remains the most frequently observed species.  This situation could prove detrimental to the strictly protected European sturgeon, and particular instructions [hyperlink Actions/ natural conservation/…] have been given to fishermen in order that they may differentiate between the two species.
.
Last Updated on Saturday, 07 November 2009 21:24