Sturgeon species of fish with names and photos, a list of the most popular

Sturgeon species of fish are distinguished by the fact that they live in salty, sea water, and go to spawning rivers with fresh water or other bodies of water. At the same time, it should be noted that sturgeons have representatives of small sizes, from 30 to 100 cm long and weighing from half a kilogram to 5 kg, as well as representatives that grow up to 10 meters in length, weighing about 3 tons. The catch of sturgeon species of fish in our time is a serious fishery, reaching large volumes. Because of this, the population of these fish species is constantly decreasing, and some of the species are forbidden to be caught at all. Sturgeons are valued for their tasty and valuable meat, as well as caviar.

Structure and characteristics

The sturgeon family is distinguished by an elongated body shape, on which there are 5 rows of hard spikes made of bone tissue. Two rows are located on the belly, two on the sides and one row on the back, and in the gap between them there are bone protective plates.

The sturgeon is characterized by a cone-shaped, somewhat elongated snout, in the form of a shovel. On the underside is a mouth, with fleshy lips and four mustaches. The structure of the jaw is distinguished by a retractable shape, on which there are no teeth.

The pectoral fin is distinguished by the shape of a “thorn” with a thickening, and the dorsal fin is slightly shifted back. The swim bladder is connected to the esophagus and is located below the spine. The fish skeleton is distinguished by a cartilaginous, invertebrate structure in the form of a chord. The membranes of the 4 gills are connected in the throat area. In addition, there are 2 additional gills.

Overview

Almost all species of sturgeon, before the process of spawning, move to shallow depths of freshwater reservoirs. Sturgeons are quite prolific, since adults are able to lay up to 1 million eggs. Most spawning occurs in the spring. Some species of sturgeon not only spawn in fresh waters, but quite often wait out the winter in them. Sturgeons prefer a benthic lifestyle, feeding on worms, small fish, insects, and mollusks.

Maturity

Sturgeon species of fish, or rather about 20 species, are long-lived, since they can live up to 100 years, although this applies to only one species. The life span of other species does not exceed 60 years. The period of sexual maturity in many species occurs at different periods, depending on the conditions of existence and the availability of food resources. Some of the species begin to spawn at 15 years of age. Wherein:

• Females mature at the age of 10-12 years.
• Males are ready for fertilization, starting from 7 years of age.

Sturgeons are a type of fish that grow quickly and gain weight quickly. In the Don and Dnieper rivers, sturgeons mature somewhat faster than representatives living in the Volga. This is not surprising, since the climate is somewhat colder on the Volga.

spawning

Only the sterlet spawns annually, while other species do not differ in this feature and can spawn in a year or even two. They spawn in spring and summer in fresh rivers, characterized by a rapid current. Sturgeon caviar is highly sticky, therefore, it is firmly held on pebbles and other rocks.

Fry

Sturgeon fry, when born, are in the yolk sac, which is what they feed on in the first days, until this sac is resolved. After that, they begin to independently search for food. Sometimes they linger in their places of birth, but mostly, they roll into the sea. The diet of fry consists of zooplankton, after a certain period, having matured a little, their diet consists of:

• From mysid.
• from chironomids.
• From the Gammarids.

But, as for the beluga fry, they are born without a yolk bladder and immediately begin to independently look for food for themselves. Almost up to sexually mature age, sturgeons develop in salty, sea water. There are 2 varieties of sturgeon: winter and spring. The last species enter the rivers in spring, before the start of spawning, and the first species enters the rivers in autumn, winter in these reservoirs and lay eggs in spring.

Classification of sturgeon fish species

There are 2 types of the sturgeon family:

• Skafir.
• Sturgeon.

Previously, there were more than 20 species of fish that were found in the waters of America, Europe and Asia. Unfortunately, in our time, the sturgeon population has a slightly smaller number of species, no more than 20.

List of sturgeon fish species with photos and names

Sturgeons occupy a special niche in the fishery. In our time, it is worth paying attention to some representatives of this family, which are of commercial interest. The following types are considered the most popular and in demand.

Beluga

This is the oldest representative of the sturgeon family, and also the largest. Beluga is able to live for about 100 years, while growing up to 10 meters in length and gaining weight of 3 tons. The body of the beluga looks like a torpedo and is protected by 5 rows of protective plates. It is white on the bottom and gray on the top. The mouth is located at the bottom of the head and has a crescent shape. It also has a mustache that helps the fish navigate in space and look for food. The females are larger than the males. They lay eggs once every 2-3 years. This is a predatory fish whose diet consists of gobies, anchovies, roach, herring and other fish.

Kaluga

Belongs to freshwater fish of the Beluga genus and can grow up to 5 meters in length and gaining weight up to 1 ton. Kaluga has a relatively large mouth. Distinguish kaluga fast-growing, firth and migratory. To a greater extent, this fish is found in the basins of such rivers as the Amur, Sungari, Shilka and Argun.

Russian sturgeon

This fish is characterized by a spindle-shaped body, which ends in a blunt snout. Mustaches are located at the ends of the mouth. The belly of the Russian sturgeon is white, the sides are gray-brown, and the back is dark gray. It can grow up to 3 meters in length and weigh up to 120 kg. Can live up to 60 years. In the natural habitat, this fish can create hybrids with beluga, sterlet, stellate sturgeon and spike. In fact, this happens very rarely, but hybrids still come across. Habitat – Black Sea, Caspian and Azov Seas.

shovelnose

It grows up to one and a half meters in length and gains weight up to 4,5 kg. It has a flat and rather long tail with bony fins. It has a large swim bladder and small eyes. It is mainly found in the Amudarya river basin.

Siberian sturgeon

Numerous bone plates and fulcra are placed on the body of this fish. There are no teeth, while the mouth is retractable, and 4 antennae are located in front of it. This fish inhabits the basins of such rivers as the Ob, Yenisei, Kolyma and Lena. The Siberian sturgeon lives for almost 50 years, growing up to 3 meters in length and gaining a weight of about 150 kg. Spawns in July. The diet includes organisms living at the bottom of water bodies: mollusks, chiromid larvae and polychaete worms. In other words, this fish leads a benthic lifestyle.

Spike

It has a classic appearance inherent in sturgeons. There are 5 rows of bone spikes on the body. Habitats – basins of the Aral, Caspian, Azov and Black Seas.

Stellate sturgeon

Habitats are common with such a representative of the sturgeon family as a spike. At the same time, spring and winter stellate sturgeon are distinguished. Characteristic features of the body structure are: a poorly developed lower jaw, a convex forehead, a long nose, a smooth and thin mustache. Almost the entire body is covered with protective bone plates. The belly of the stellate sturgeon is white, and the sides and back are blue-black. It can grow up to 6 meters in length and weigh about 60 kg.

Sterlet

This is the smallest representative of this family, as it grows in length no more than 120 cm, with a weight of 20 kg. The fish is distinguished by the presence of long whiskers that reach the mouth and a narrow but elongated nose. At the same time, the lower lip is divided into 2 parts, and on the sides the body is covered with solid shields. The same shields protect the fish from the back. Depending on the habitat, the sterlet may differ in different colors, although its main coloring is a yellow-white belly and a gray-brown back. All fins are grey. There are sharp-nosed and blunt-nosed sterlet. Habitats – northern regions of Siberia.

The nutritional value

It has long been believed that sturgeon species of fish are a delicacy fish with special taste characteristics. It is sold fresh, live, frozen, smoked and chilled. Sturgeons serve as an initial product for the preparation of balyk and various canned food. The sale of sturgeon, in salted form, is prohibited, since a pathogenic anaerobe, botulinum, is found in sturgeon meat, which is a source of acute poisoning.

In the old days, only sturgeon species of fish, such as beluga, sterlet, stellate sturgeon and sturgeon, were classified as red fish. Moreover, they called it red not because it had a pink tint of meat, but for its excellent taste and very healthy caviar. In our time, the status of red fish is more attached to salmon species of fish. Therefore, salmon, pink salmon and chum salmon are also called red fish. Most likely, this is due to the fact that in our time there are much more salmon than sturgeons.

Sturgeons have their own characteristic trade and culinary classification, depending on their habitat. The first group includes sturgeon species that are found in the Black and Caspian Seas. The first category includes: beluga, sterlet, spike, sturgeon and stellate sturgeon. The second category includes salmon, such as trout, pink salmon or chum salmon. The latter group includes salmon with white meat, such as coho salmon, whitefish, nelma and taimen.

Red fish is valued for a wide range of nutrients found in meat. These are vitamins of groups “A”, “B”, “E”, “PP” and “D”, as well as minerals such as zinc, phosphorus, calcium, fluorine and iodine. Also, this list is not complete. But the most important advantage is the presence in the meat of this fish of fatty acids, such as Omega-3. Due to the presence of this acid, the work of the central nervous system improves, immunity increases, memory improves, etc.

Scientists have proven that the category of people who regularly consume red fish is less susceptible to manifestations of depression, and their risks of developing hypertension or oncology are reduced by 3 times. Therefore, in our time, a ban on commercial fishing has been imposed on some species of both sturgeon and salmon. Their fishing is allowed only with special licenses. This also applies to recreational fishing. Heavy fines are imposed for unauthorized fishing. Unfortunately, these measures do not stop poachers.