Who lives where? Who lives how? What story do these fish have? We are happy to answer these and other questions in our species presentation.
Description
The Russian Waxdick Sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) is a marine fish that can be about 230-240 cm long and over 110 kg in weight.
A common name for the Russian sturgeon is "Waxdick". It is also called "Danube Sturgeon" or "Ossietra Sturgeon" (supplier of the "Ossietra Caviar"). Its English name is "Danube sturgeon".
The Waxdick is an anadromous migratory fish that rises to spawn from the sea into the freshwater rivers flowing into it. An earlier, non-migratory species that lived exclusively in the Volga, Danube and Ural freshwater rivers has now become extinct.
The Russian Waxdick Sturgeon is fished commercially and is an important supplier of caviar. However, due to water pollution and overfishing, the stocks of the Russian sturgeon have declined drastically, mainly in the Caspian Sea. In the Azov Sea, the stocks are artificially increased and thus could be kept reasonably stable.
Way of Life/Habitat
The home of the Russian sturgeon or waxdick is the Black Sea including the tributaries Danube, Dnieper (Russia, Ukraine), Bug (Ukraine, Belarus, Poland), Dniester (Ukraine and Moldova), Rioni (Georgia), Inguri (Georgia), the Azov Sea with its tributaries Don (Russia) and Kuban (Caucasus) and the Caspian Sea with its tributaries Volga, Urals (Russia and Kazakhstan), Kura, Terek and Sulak (Caucasus).
As an anadromous migratory fish, the Russian sturgeon migrates up the freshwater rivers to spawn, covering large distances of over 1,000 km in some cases.
The Russian sturgeon or wax thick is mainly on the seabed. He prefers sandy or muddy surfaces. In summer he prefers water depths between 1-30 meters and water temperatures of approx. 12-24 ° C. In winter, he looks for deeper areas between 20-120 meters. He usually lives solitary, but occurs in larger groups when spawning.
Fact sheet
Scientific Name:
Acipenser gueldenstaedtii
Size:
Individual specimens were up to 230 cm tall. On average they measure approx. 150 cm
Weight:
Maximum published weight 115 kg
Age:
Up to about 50 years
Habitat:
Mainly on the seabed
