Sturgeons and Paddlefishes: Order Acipenseriformes

The Order Acipenseriformes includes a few dozen primative fish known as paddlefishes and sturgeons. In the US, both sturgeons and paddlefish are extremley rare.  

Fish in the Order Acipenseriformes have cartilaginous endoskeletons, they lack a vertebral centrum and they have a spiral valve intestine.

Classification of Sturgeons and Paddlefishes

There are several living representatives of sturgeons and paddlefish in the world.  The following list is from Fishbase.

Sturgeon

• Siberian and Baikal sturgeon - Acipenser baerii (two subspecies)
• Shortnose sturgeon - Acipenser brevirostrum
• Yangtze sturgeon - Acipenser dabryanus
• Lake sturgeon - Acipenser fulvenscens
• Russian sturgeon - Acipenser gueldenstaedtii
• Green sturgeon - Acipenser medirostris
• Sakhalin sturgeon - Acipenser mikadoi
• Japanese sturgeon - Acipenser multiscutatus
• Adriatic sturgeon - Acipenser naccarii
• Frigebarbel sturgeon - Acipenser nudiventris
• Gulf and Atlantic sturgeon - Acipenser oxyrinchus
• Persian sturgeon - Acipenser persicus
• Sterlet - Acipenser ruthenus
• Amur sturgeon - Acipenser schrenckii
• Chinese sturgeon - Acipenser sinensis
• Starry sturgeon - Acipenser stellatus
• European sturgeon - Acipenser sturio
• White sturgeon - Acipenser transmontanus
• Beluga sturgeon - Huso huso
• Kaluga sturgeon - Huso dauricus
• Pallid sturgeon - Scaphirhynchus albus
• Shovelnose sturgeon - Scaphirhynchus platorynchus
• Alabama sturgeon - Scaphirhynchus suttkusi
• Dwarf sturgeon - Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni
• Syr Darya sturgeon - Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi
• Amu Darya sturgeon - Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni

Paddlefishes

• American Paddlefish - Polyodon spathula
• Chinese Paddlefish - Psephurus gladius

Other good videos of paddlefish and sturgeons: 

The following video shows the American Paddlefish on the Missouri River.