#sturgeonfish

[sturgeonposting]

Thoughts on sturddlefish?

The sturddlefish is a weird little man to me. He’s almost a sturgeon but not quite. If people are interested in him I can write a post about him. I do think it’s a cool and unique effort to rejuvenate both species, and I think it’s funny how sometimes they come out as just… slightly weird sturgeon.

[sturgeonposting]

Amu Darya Sturgeon

Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni, commonly known as either the Amu Darya sturgeon or the false shovelnose sturgeon, is native to the Amu Darya river basin in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The Amu Darya sturgeon grows around 30 inches long excluding its ribbon-like tail filament, which adds around another 10 inches to its total length when included. This sturgeon is not noteworthy for its large size, like some of its lengthier cousins. Instead, you’ll find yourself mesmerized by this sturgeon’s scintillating scutes!  There are two beautiful morphs of this species: a large morph with pearlescent white coloring, streaked with pale blues and purples, and a smaller, more quickly maturing morph with a darker coloration. The Amu Darya sturgeon is critically endangered due to habitat loss, overfishing, pollution, and poaching.

[sturgeonposting]

Lake Sturgeon

Lake sturgeon, scientific name Acipencer fulvescens, can be found in rivers and lakes all across North America. With its warm, red-brown coloration and friendly, spade-like snout, you will be glad to see this fish swimming by! The lake sturgeon grows to around 7.25 feet long. To achieve this impressive length, it eats worms and mollusks, as well as small fish in habitats where this prey is particularly abundant. Female lake sturgeon do not spawn until they are on average 25 years old, but they are often fished for caviar much before they reach this age. For this reason, as well as because of general overfishing for their eggs and meat, they are considered endangered on the IUCN Red List.

[sturgeonposting]

Starry Sturgeon

Acipenser stellatus, commonly known as the starry sturgeon, is native to the Caspian, Aegean, Black, and Azov sea basins. Starry sturgeon can grow over 7 feet long, but they’re nowhere near the longest members of the Acipenser family! This fish gets its name from the white scales along its lateral line and the white tips of the scutes that run along its back, all of which stand out like stars against its otherwise dark coloring. This sturgeon enjoys a diet of worms, mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish. Currently, this fish is listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered, as it is one of the primary species harvested for caviar. 

[alvinberglund]

Mutually beneficial relationships among the inhabitants of the deep sea

Photo: Doug Perrine                                                                         Larger "Yellow zebrasoma (a type of Surgeonfish) often act as cleaners for marine turtles, by removing algal film that forms on their shells. Today the population of yellow Zebras has dropped significantly, mainly due to capture for the animal trade. According to the latest figures, just from the area of the Hawaiian Islands alone five hundred thousand of various types of fish are exported every year, and half are yellow zebrasoma." [Chrome-translated from the Russian.]