Sterlet
Acipenser ruthenus
Adult sterlets are bottom-dwelling sturgeons of large rivers and connected floodplain waters, preferring clean, oxygen-rich currents over gravel or sand. They feed mostly on insect larvae, mollusks, crustaceans, and worms, using four barbels to locate food before extending the mouth to suck it in. Unlike many larger sturgeons, the sterlet often remains in freshwater rather than making long migrations to the sea. Its five rows of hard bony scutes give it a distinctly armored profile.
- Type
- Water / Shell
- Conservation status
- EN
Growth chain
- ?
- Sterlet