The Pallid Sturgeon

The Pallid Sturgeon belongs to the Acipenseridae family. it measures between 70 and 150 cm long and 39 kg in adulthood. The Pallid Sturgeon takes 15 years to reach maturity, and can live for more than a century. it breeds from May to July. Considered as endangered, it cannot be caught.
Like the other Acipenseridae, it is considered as a "living fossil". The Pallid Sturgeon has a characteristic appearance that makes it to be qualified as "primitive" or "dinosaur". It has a pale color, especially in adults who fade with time, with a greyish back and sides. Its caudal fin is heterocercal, with an upper lobe more developed than the lower lobe. Like other sturgeons, the Pallid Sturgeon has no calcified scales or bones, unlike more recent fish species. It has a cartilaginous skeleton with five rows of thick patches that extend along its sides, belly, back and most of its head. These plates are covered by the skin and protect the animal. This cartilage also extends to the back of the fish’s body, between the dorsal fin and the tail. The mouth starts well set back from the tip of the head. Because it has no teeth, it uses this stretchy mouth to suck small fish, shellfish and other foods from the bottom of the river. Like all sturgeons, it has four barbells. We think they have a sensory role in detecting food.