Sterletus persicus (Borodin, 1897)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 54

Sterletus persicus

Common name. Persian sturgeon

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Acipenser and Sterletus in West Asia by: ○ head squarish, if seen from below / ○ dorsum greyish-blue to black, belly white / ○ base of barbels closer to tip of snout than to mouth / ○ barbels not fimbriate / ○ lower lip interrupted in middle / ○ snout elongate, massive and curved downward / ○ dorsal profiles of head and body continuous / ○ no plate along posterior part of anal base / ○ no plate along posterior part of anal base / ○ 0–1 plate along lower edge of caudal peduncle / ○ 15–31 gill rakers / ○ 7–19 dorsal scutes / ○ 23–41 lateral scutes / ○ 7–13 ventral scutes. Size up to 2280 mm TL and 70 kg.

Distribution . Caspian basin, most abundant in southern part. Also, in south-eastern Black Sea basin along Georgian and Anatolian coasts where it enters Rioni and previously lower Danube.

Habitat. At sea, coastal and estuarine zones. Spawns in strong-current habitats in main channel of large and deep rivers on stony or gravel bottoms. Juveniles spend their first summer in riverine habitats.

Biology. Anadromous. Males first spawn at 8–15 years, females at 12–18 years. Does not spawn every year. Spawns June–August when temperature rises above 16°C. In southern Caspian basin, spawns April–September, but reproduction is interrupted from June to August when temperatures rise above 25°C. Most individuals migrate upstream in April–May, but some may enter rivers at other times of the year. In southern Caspian basin, there is a second run in September–October. Juveniles migrate to sea during their first summer and remain there until maturity. At sea, it feeds on a wide variety of benthic molluscs, crustaceans, and small fish.

Conservation status. CR; survival appears to depend only on stocking. Presence generally ignored; individuals often confused with S. gueldenstaedtii . Last spawning population migrates to Rioni in Georgia. Probably no natural reproduction anymore in Caspian basin. Has been massively stocked from artificial propagation in Iran. Recently, Iranian stocking programmes for this species have been discontinued.

Remarks. Acipenser colchicus has been proposed as a valid species for the Black Sea population. Molecular or other data have not supported this hypothesis,and we treat S. colchicus as a synonym of S. persicus . Similar datasets also do not support S. persicus as distinct from S. gueldenstaedtii , while these two species are always recognised as morphologically distinct, especially in the Caspian basin. Further research is needed to resolve this taxonomic issue.

Further reading. Vlasenko et al. 1989b (biology).

Figures

Sterletus persicus

Distribution