Acipenseriformes are an
orderIn scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of primitive
ray-finned fishesThe Actinopterygii constitute the class of the ray-finned fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii...
that includes the
sturgeonSturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
s and
paddlefishPaddlefish are primitive Chondrostean ray-finned fishes. The paddlefish can be distinguished by its large mouth and its elongated snout called a rostrum . These spatula-like snouts comprise half the length of their entire body. There are only two extant species of these fish: the Chinese and the...
es, as well as some extinct families.
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Acipenseriformes are an
orderIn scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of primitive
ray-finned fishesThe Actinopterygii constitute the class of the ray-finned fishes.The ray-finned fishes are so called because they possess lepidotrichia or "fin rays", their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines , as opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii...
that includes the
sturgeonSturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
s and
paddlefishPaddlefish are primitive Chondrostean ray-finned fishes. The paddlefish can be distinguished by its large mouth and its elongated snout called a rostrum . These spatula-like snouts comprise half the length of their entire body. There are only two extant species of these fish: the Chinese and the...
es, as well as some extinct families.
Notable characteristics of Acipenseriformes include:
- Cartilaginous
Cartilage is a stiff yet flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
endoskeleton
- Lack of vertebral centrum
The body is the largest part of a vertebra, and is more or less cylindrical in shape.Its upper and lower surfaces are flattened and rough, and give attachment to the intervertebral fibrocartilages, and each presents a rim around its circumference....
- Spiral valve intestine
- Conus arteriosus
The conus arteriosus is a conical pouch formed from the upper and left angle of the right ventricle in the chordate heart, from which the pulmonary artery arises....
Acipenseriformes
Order
Acipenseriformes
- Family Acipenseridae
- Subfamily Acipenserinae
- Genus Acipenser
Acipenser is genus of sturgeons. With about 18 species, many of which are threatened, it is the largest genus in the order Acipenseriformes.-Species:*Acipenser baerii**Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii baerii...
- Acipenser baerii
- Siberian sturgeon
The Siberian sturgeon is a species of fish in the Acipenseridae family. It is found in China, Russia, and possibly Kazakhstan. In addition to the nominate taxon , it includes the subspecies baicalensis, which commonly is referred to by the common name Baikal sturgeon.-Source:* Sturgeon Specialist...
, Acipenser baerii baerii
- Baikal sturgeon
The Baikal sturgeon, Acipenser baerii baicalensis, is a sturgeon indigenous to Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia. It feeds mainly on larvae. The Baikal sturgeon migrates around the lake along its shoreline. Not long ago, sturgeons weighing 125 kilograms were not uncommon. The Baikal Sturgeon is now...
, Acipenser baerii baicalensis
- Shortnose sturgeon
The shortnose sturgeon is a small North American sturgeon which can be found in 16 to 19 large river and estuary systems along the Atlantic seaboard from the Saint John River in New Brunswick, Canada, to the St. Johns River in Florida, United States.
[National Marine...]
, Acipenser brevirostrum (USA)
- Yangtze sturgeon, Acipenser dabryanus
- Lake sturgeon
The lake sturgeon is a North American temperate freshwater fish, one of about 20 species of sturgeon. Like other sturgeons, this species is an evolutionarily ancient bottomfeeder with a partly cartilaginous skeleton and skin bearing rows of bony plates...
, Acipenser fulvescens (USA)
- Russian sturgeon
The Russian sturgeon is a species of fish in the Acipenseridae family. It is found in Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. This fish can grow up to six feet and weigh almost 250lbs...
, Acipenser gueldenstaedtii
- Green sturgeon
The Green Sturgeon is a species of sturgeon native to the Pacific Ocean, from China and Russia, over into Canada and the United States.- Description :Sturgeons are among the largest and most ancient of cartilaginous fishes...
, Acipenser medirostris
- Sakhalin sturgeon
The Sakhalin sturgeon is a species of fish in the Acipenseridae family. It is found in China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Russia.-Source:* Sturgeon Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 03 August 2007....
, Acipenser mikadoi
- Japanese sturgeon, Acipenser multiscutatus
- Adriatic sturgeon
The Adriatic sturgeon is a species of fish in the Acipenseridae family. It is found in Albania, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, and Slovenia.Its natural habitat is rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Acipenser naccarii
- Fringebarbel sturgeon, Acipenser nudiventris
- Acipenser oxyrinchus (USA)
- Gulf sturgeon
The gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi is a subspecies of sturgeon that lives in the Gulf of Mexico and some rivers draining into it. The gulf sturgeon was first recognized as a separate subspecies in 1955. The nominate subspecies is the Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhynchus oxyrinchus...
, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi
- Atlantic sturgeon
The Atlantic sturgeon is a member of the Acipenseridae family and is among one of the oldest fish species in the world. Its range extends from New Brunswick, Canada to the eastern coast of Florida. It was in great abundance when the first settlers came to America, but has since declined due to...
, Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus
- Persian sturgeon
The Persian sturgeon is an endangered species of sturgeon.-Description:The Persian Sturgeon has an elongated, bulky body with a bluish tint. This type of sturgeon is endemic to the Caspian and Black Sea, but primarily resides in the Caspian Sea. Populations may also occur in tributaries and...
, Acipenser persicus
- Sterlet
The sterlet is a common Eurasian species of sturgeon, one of the smaller species of sturgeon. It is a common domestic species in the UK and Europe and an angling species all over the world...
, Acipenser ruthenus
- Amur sturgeon
The Amur sturgeon is a species of fish in the Acipenseridae family. It is found in China, Mongolia, Russia and Japan.-References:* Sturgeon Specialist Group 1996. . Downloaded on 03 August 2007....
, Acipenser schrenckii
- Chinese sturgeon
The Chinese Sturgeon is a member of the family Acipenseridae and the order Acipenseriformes.It 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...
, Acipenser sinensis
- Starry sturgeon
Starry Sturgeon, Acipenser stellatus, also known as Drakul and Uzun Burun is a species of sturgeons, living in the Black, Azov, and Caspian sea basins. It is rare in the Adriatic Sea. It reaches 220 cm and weighs up to 80 kg . The maximum reported age for this species is 27 years...
, Acipenser stellatus
- European sturgeon, Acipenser sturio (also "Baltic sturgeon")
- White sturgeon
The white sturgeon , also known as the Pacific sturgeon, Oregon sturgeon, Columbia sturgeon, Sacramento sturgeon, and California white sturgeon, is a sturgeon which lives along the west coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands to Central...
, Acipenser transmontanus
- Genus Huso
- Beluga sturgeon
The beluga or European sturgeon is a species of anadromous fish in the sturgeon family of order Acipenseriformes. It is found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, and occasionally in the Adriatic Sea...
, Huso huso
- Kaluga sturgeon
The Kaluga is a large predatory sturgeon found in the Amur River basin. Also known as the River Beluga, they are claimed to be the largest freshwater fish in the world, with a maximum size of at least 1,000 kg and 5.6 m...
, Huso dauricus
- Subfamily Scaphirhynchinae
Scaphirhynchinae is a subfamily of sturgeon which includes two genera comprising a total of six species.Genus Scaphirhynchus native to North America*Pallid sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus albus*Shovelnose sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus...
- Genus Scaphirhynchus
- Pallid sturgeon
The pallid sturgeon is an endangered species of ray-finned fish, endemic to the waters of the Missouri and lower Mississippi River basins of the United States...
, Scaphirhynchus albus
- Shovelnose sturgeon
The shovelnose sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus, is the smallest species of freshwater sturgeon native to the United States of America. It is often called "hackleback", "sand sturgeon", or "switchtail." Switchtail refers to the long filament found on the upper lobe of the caudal fin...
, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus
- Alabama sturgeon
The Alabama sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus suttkusi, is a critically endangered species of sturgeon native to the United States of America and now only believed to exist in of the lower Alabama River. The fish has a distinctive yellowish-orange color, grows to a size of about 30 inches long and 2 to 3...
, Scaphirhynchus suttkusi
- Genus Pseudoscaphirhynchus
- Dwarf sturgeon, Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni
- Syr Darya sturgeon, Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi
- Amu Darya sturgeon, Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni
- Family Polyodontidae (Paddlefish
Paddlefish are primitive Chondrostean ray-finned fishes. The paddlefish can be distinguished by its large mouth and its elongated snout called a rostrum . These spatula-like snouts comprise half the length of their entire body. There are only two extant species of these fish: the Chinese and the...
)
- Genus Polyodon
- American paddlefish
The American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, also called the Mississippi paddlefish or spoonbill, lives in slow-flowing waters of the Mississippi River drainage system. It appears to have been extirpated from Lake Erie and its tributaries. They are closely related to the sturgeons...
, Polyodon spathula (USA)
- Genus Psephurus
- Chinese paddlefish
Chinese Paddlefish, Psephurus gladius , also known as Chinese Swordfish, are among the largest freshwater fish. It is one of two extant paddlefish species, the other being the American Paddlefish. It is also called "elephant fish" because its snout resembles an elephant trunk. It is recorded...
, Psephurus gladius
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