Chinese sturgeon
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| Acipenser sinensis Gray, 1835 |
The Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis) is a member of the Acipenseridae family of Acipenseriformes order. The local name for this species of fish is Zhong Hua Xun(中华鲟).
It is an animal strictly protected by the Chinese government, and is thought to have lived at the same time as dinosaurs, dating back to a period 140 million years ago. Because of that, it is sometimes also known as a living fossil.
It can be considered a large fresh water fish, and is 200 to 500 centimeters in body length, with 200 to 500 kilograms in average weight. The largest one can weigh 550 kilograms. A grownup sturgeon measures up to 4 meters long, weighs over 1000 pound, ranking the biggest of all the 27 sturgeons in the world and biggest animal in the Yangtze River. Its head is acuminate, with the mouth under its jaw.
Sturgeon is a comparatively inferior species of fish. It is a transitional species of Cartilaginous fish and bony fish.
The Chinese Sturgeon has a habit of upstream migration, and dwells along the coasts of China's eastern areas and migrate into rivers for propagation upon reaching sexual maturity. Most aquatic animals are food for the young of the Chinese Sturgeon, while the adults feed on aquatic insects, larval, diatom and humic substances. Its reproductive capacity is poor; generally, it takes more than 10 years for Chinese Sturgeon to be sexually mature.
The Chinese sturgeon is largely dispersed over the main streams of the Yangtze River and coastal regions of Qiantang River, Minjiang River and Pearl River. It is a precious, but endangered species native to China.
The Chinese Sturgeon is of great academic interest in taxonomy and biology. The channel for adult fish migrating to superior spawning sites such as the Jinsha River in the upstream of Yangtze River was blocked after the construction of the hydropower project, Gezhouba Dam. For this reason, the government has invested huge labor power and financial resources to protect this precious species. At present, some success has been achieved with artificial inducement for spawning and stream discharge for incubation. Built in 1982, the Chinese Sturgeon Museum is part of the Chinese Sturgeon Institution of China which is using such artificial breeding techniques to try to preserve this endangered species.
[edit] References
- ^ Sturgeon Specialist Group (1996). Acipenser sinensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 25 February 2007. Listed as Endangered (EN A2cd v2.3)
