Facts about Sturgeon

1. 07

   Migratory sturgeon undertake journeys of over 3,000 kilometers between ocean feeding grounds and freshwater spawning rivers, sometimes taking 5 to 14 years to reach sexual maturity.

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2. 06

   Beluga sturgeon can grow up to 7.2 meters long and weigh as much as 1,500 kilograms, making them among the largest freshwater fish species alive today.

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3. 05

   Twenty-seven sturgeon species exist today, with most inhabiting freshwater rivers and coastal regions across the Northern Hemisphere.

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4. 04

   In 2010, Russian scientists identified a 140-year-old female beluga sturgeon in the Volga River, making it one of the oldest vertebrates ever documented.

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5. 03

   Fossil records show that sturgeon species have remained virtually unchanged for approximately 200 million years, making them living descendants of the dinosaur era.

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6. 02

   The beluga sturgeon's eggs, called caviar, can comprise up to 25 percent of the female's body weight before spawning.

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7. 01

   Some sturgeon species can live over 100 years, with the beluga sturgeon documented to reach ages of 118 years in the wild.

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