Persian sturgeon
| Persian sturgeon | ||||||||||||
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Persian sturgeon ( Acipenser persicus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Acipenser persicus | ||||||||||||
| Borodin , 1897 |
The Persian sturgeon ( Acipenser persicus ) is an endangered species of fish belonging to the family of sturgeon found in the Caspian Sea .
features
Within the genus, the Persian sturgeon is one of the smaller species with a length of mostly 1.3 to 2 meters. The maximum length described is 2.42 meters. The weight for adult males is between 20 and 30, for females between 30 and 35 kilograms, the maximum weight described is 70 kilograms. The muzzle is broad, bulbous and directed slightly downwards. The two pairs of barbels stand closer to the tip of the snout than to the lower mouth , the upper lip of which is notched and the lower lip of which is divided. The body is elongated and slender with variable coloring. The back is usually dark blue-gray with a pale white to yellowish belly. The bone shields are lighter than the trunk and are copper to gold in young animals and mostly pale yellow in adults. The first bone plate of the back row is separated from the head, but often only by a very small distance. In total, the back row has 7 to 19 shields, the rows along the flanks have 23 to 50 and those along the belly 7 to 13 shields. Between the main rows there are often rows of smaller bone shields. Behind the 27- to 51-rayed dorsal fin there are usually 2 or three rows of small, paired shields, in front of the 16- to 35-rayed anal fin are one or two shields, and behind it a row of 1 to 3 shields. The arches of the gill trap carry 15 to 31 rays.
Occurrence
The Persian sturgeon occurs in the Caspian Sea near the coast and in estuaries , with the species being more common in the southern area. It migrates into the tributaries to spawn .
Way of life
In the sea, the Persian sturgeon prefers warmer waters than the similar Russian sturgeon . It feeds on bottom-dwelling fish, crustaceans and mussels. To mate, the animals usually migrate into the rivers in April to May, where they spawn at water temperatures between 16 and 25 ° C. The young migrate back into the sea in the first year, where they remain until sexual maturity. Males breed for the first time at 8 to 15 years of age, and females at 12 to 18 years of age. The generation time is estimated at 14 years.
Use and inventory
The Persian sturgeon is only used commercially for caviar production in Iran , whereby the majority of the catches make up stocking fish. Since 1960 the catches have more than halved. Commercial fishing has been banned in Russia since 2000. In the Red List of the IUCN , the Persian sturgeon as threatened with extinction ( Critically endangered out) because the natural stocks by overfishing have fallen sharply and the preservation is probably dependent on the stocking today. In addition to illegal fishing and losses from bycatch, pollution of spawning grounds is also a threat.
proof
- ↑ Paul Vecseia, Evgenii Artyukhin: Threatened fishes of the world: Acipenser persicus Borodin, 1897 (Acipenseridae) . In: Environmental Biology of Fishes . tape 61 , 2001, p. 160 , doi : 10.1023 / A: 1011046303819 (English).
- ^ Minister of Supply and Services Canada: CITES Identification Guide - Sturgeons and Paddlefish: Guide to the Identification of Sturgeon and Paddlefish Species Controlled under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora . Wildlife Enforcement and Intelligence Division, Environment Canada, 2001, ISBN 0-660-61641-6 (English, French, Spanish, full text [PDF]).
- ↑ Persian sturgeon on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ a b c Acipenser persicus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Gesner, J., Freyhof, J. & Kottelat, M., 2010. Accessed November 11, 2012th