Pallid sturgeon [SEP] IUCN conservation status
Pallid sturgeon
The pallid sturgeon ("Scaphirhynchus albus") is an endangered species of ray-finned fish, endemic to the waters of the Missouri and lower Mississippi river basins of the United States.
Named for its pale coloration, it is closely related to the relatively common shovelnose sturgeon ("Scaphirhynchus platorynchus"), but is much larger, averaging between in length and in weight at maturity. This species takes 15 years to mature and spawns infrequently, but can live up to a century. A member
to ensure the survival of this species, the rarity of self-sustaining populations of pallid sturgeon ensures that it will remain federally protected for many decades.
Conservation Species preservation efforts.
Two populations of pallid sturgeon in the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers of Montana are both at risk of extinction, and current projections are that wild pallid sturgeon populations in Montana will be extinct by 2018. Though a vigorous stocking effort was implemented in 1996, until pallid sturgeon females reach reproductive maturity sometime after they are 15 years of age, recovery