russian sturgeon

{{Speciesbox

| name = Russian sturgeon

| image = Waxdick (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii ) - crop.jpg

| image2 = Acipenser gueldenstaedtii.jpg

| status = CR

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Gessner, J. |author2=Freyhof, J. |author3=Kottelat, M. |date=2010 |title=Acipenser gueldenstaedtii |volume=2010 |page=e.T232A13042340 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-1.RLTS.T232A13042340.en |access-date=14 November 2021}}

| status2 = CITES_A2

| status2_system = CITES

| status2_ref = {{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}

| genus = Huso

| species = gueldenstaedtii

| authority = (von Brandt & Ratzeburg 1833)

| synonyms = * Acipenser pygmaeus Reisinger 1830 non – Pallas 1814

Acipenser aculeatus Lovetsky 1834
Acipenser medius Heckel 1836
Acipenser tueckus Heckel 1836
Acipenser macrophthalmus Heckel 1836
Acipenser brevirostris Heckel 1836 non – Lesueur 1818
Acipenser gueldenstaedtii var. scobar Antipa 1909
Acipenser gueldenstaedti scaber Antipa 1909
Acipenser gueldenstaedti var. golis Antipa 1909
Acipenser gueldenstaedti var. longirostris Antipa 1909
Acipenser gueldenstaedti var. acutirostris Antipa 1909 non – Ayres 1854
Acipenser gueldenstaedtii var. colchicus Marti 1940
Acipenser colchicus (Marti 1940)
Acipenser gueldenstaedtii colchicus (Marti 1940)
Acipenser gueldenstaedti var. tanaica Marti 1940
Acipenser gueldenstaedti colchicus n. danubicus Movchan 1967
Acipenser gueldenstaedti persicus n. kurensis Belyaeff 1932

| synonyms_ref = {{Cite web|last1=Froese|first1=R.|last2=Pauly|first2=D.|year=2017|title=Acipenseridae |url=http://www.fishbase.se/Summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=32|website=FishBase version (02/2017)|access-date=18 May 2017}}{{Cite web|title=Acipenseridae |url=http://deeplyfish.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Family-Acipenseridae-PDF.pdf|website=Deeplyfish- fishes of the world|access-date=18 May 2017}}

}}

The Russian sturgeon (Huso gueldenstaedtii),{{Cof genus|genus=Huso|access-date=28 May 2025}} also known as the diamond sturgeon or Danube sturgeon, is a species of fish in the family Acipenseridae. It is found in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. It is also found in the Caspian Sea. This fish can grow up to about {{convert|235|cm|abbr=on}} and weigh {{convert|115|kg|abbr=on}}. Russian sturgeon mature and reproduce slowly, making them highly vulnerable to fishing. It is distinguished from other Acipenser species by its short snout with a rounded tip as well as its lower lip which is interrupted at its center.

Prior to 2025, it was placed in the genus Acipenser, but this placement was found to be paraphyletic, and it is more accurately placed in the genus Huso.{{Cite journal |last=Brownstein |first=Chase D. |last2=Near |first2=Thomas J. |date=2025-04-25 |title=Toward a Phylogenetic Taxonomy of Sturgeons (Acipenseriformes: Acipenseridae) |url=https://bioone.org/journals/bulletin-of-the-peabody-museum-of-natural-history/volume-66/issue-1/014.066.0101/Toward-a-Phylogenetic-Taxonomy-of-Sturgeons-Acipenseriformes-Acipenseridae/10.3374/014.066.0101.full |journal=Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History |volume=66 |issue=1 |doi=10.3374/014.066.0101 |issn=0079-032X|url-access=subscription }}

Description

File:Acipenser gueldenstaedtii head.jpg

The Russian sturgeon can grow to {{convert|210|cm|0|abbr=on}} but a more normal size is {{convert|110|to|140|cm|0|abbr=on}}. It has a relatively short and rounded snout with three pairs of unfringed barbels closer to the tip of the snout that to the mouth. The dorsal fin has 27 to 48 soft rays and the anal fin has 16 to 35. The number of scales along the lateral line varies from 21 to 50. This fish can be distinguish from the otherwise similar starry sturgeon by the shape of its snout, its barbels and scale arrangement. The upper surface is greyish-green, the lateral scales are pale and the belly white.{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kalat/russian-sturgeon |title=Russian sturgeon: Acipenser gueldenstaedti (Brandt) |publisher=NatureGate |access-date=2013-12-25}}{{cite web |url=http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=fnam&menuentry=soorten&id=1083&tab=beschrijving |title=Danube sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedti)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624180340/https://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=fnam&menuentry=soorten&id=1083&tab=beschrijving|archive-date=2017-06-24|work=Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean |publisher=Marine Species Identification Portal |access-date=2013-12-25}}

File:Russian_sturgeon.jpg.]]

Distribution and habitat

The Russian sturgeon is native to the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea. It is an anadromous fish and moves into the river systems that drain into these seas in order to make its way to spawning areas upstream. It is usually found near the bottom in fairly shallow water over sandy or muddy substrates.

Biology

The Russian sturgeon feeds on crustaceans, molluscs and small fishes such as gobies, anchovies and sprats. It is solitary when in the sea but becomes gregarious as it moves up-river in April, May and June to spawn.

Hybrid

In a paper published in July 2020, eggs from three Russian sturgeons were crossbred with American paddlefish using sperm from four male paddlefishes, resulting in successful hybrids called sturddlefish. The resulting offspring had a survival rate of 62% to 74% and on average reached {{Convert|1|kg|lb|abbr=on}} after a year of growth. This is the first time such fish from different genera and families successfully were crossbred.{{Cite journal|last1=Káldy|first1=Jenő|last2=Mozsár|first2=Attila|last3=Fazekas|first3=Gyöngyvér|last4=Farkas|first4=Móni|last5=Fazekas|first5=Dorottya Lilla|last6=Fazekas|first6=Georgina Lea|last7=Goda|first7=Katalin|last8=Gyöngy|first8=Zsuzsanna|last9=Kovács|first9=Balázs|last10=Semmens|first10=Kenneth|last11=Bercsényi|first11=Miklós|date=6 July 2020|title=Hybridization of Russian Sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii, Brandt and Ratzeberg, 1833) and American Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula, Walbaum 1792) and Evaluation of Their Progeny|journal=Genes|language=en|volume=11|issue=7|pages=753|doi=10.3390/genes11070753|pmid=32640744|pmc=7397225|doi-access=free}}