The dwarf sturgeon, little shovelnose sturgeon, or small Amu-Darya shovelnose sturgeon (''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'') is a species of fish in the family

Acipenseridae Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

. It is found in

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

and probably in

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

Population

''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' population is recorded to be a rare species. There are few recordings of this species being caught, but there are accusations that fishermen are unknowingly catching them. The population trend of this species is decreasing. ''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' is being negatively affected due to dams, poaching, water extraction, irrigation, and high levels of water pollution including mineral fertilizers, pesticides for cotton agriculture, and drainage waste. More survey work on this species is needed to determine the status of their population. Overall this species is recorded to be a critically endangered species.

Diet

''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' has a diet of small aquatic invertebrates.

Distribution

''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

river basin in

and

, and might also occur in

. It formerly occurred up to the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

Identification

''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' has been recorded reaching a maximum length of 27 centimeters or 10.63 inches. The maximum reported weight of this species is 51 grams or 0.11 pounds. The oldest reported age of this species is six years old. This species is considered to be potamodromous. This species is also recorded to be sensitive to chemicals in the water. One of the specific features of ''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' is the crease on the external edge of the pectoral fin.

Environment

''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' is recorded to live in freshwater or slightly salty environments within a demersal depth range. This species lives in a temperate climate.

Common names

The common names of ''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni'' in various languages include the following: *Dwarf Sturgeon : English *Little Shovelnose Sturgeon : English *Little Amu-Darya Shovelnose : English *Lopatonos hermannův : Czech (česky) *Nibylopstons amu-daryjski : Polish (polski) *Pikkulapiosampi : Finnish (suomen kieli) *Амударьинский малый лопатонос : Russian (русский язык) *Лжелопатонос амударьинский малый : Russian (русский язык) *短尾拟铲鲟 : Mandarin Chinese *短尾擬鏟鱘 : Mandarin Chinese *난쟁이철갑상어 : Korean

References

Sources

External links

''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni''
at

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

* ''Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni - photos at

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

:'' http://www.fishbase.us/photos/ThumbnailsSummary.php?ID=8764 * ''Video of Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni and the both forms of Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni in one pool for comparison (in Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni the crease on the external edge of pectoral fin is well seen) - the lower stream of Amu Darya River (Khorezm Province, Uzbekistan):''https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lio_vxQ7yG8&t=2s * ''Pseudoscaphirhynchus of Amu Darya River including Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni in the lower stream of Amu Darya (Uzbekistan) with photos and videos of the fish:'' http://life-on-earth.ru/amu-darya-and-syr-darya-shovelnose-sturgeons/amu-darya-shovelnose-sturgeons-conservation-uzbekistan * ''Pseudoscaphirhynchus of Amu Darya River including Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni in the middle straem of Amu Darya (Turkmenistan) with photos of the fish:'' http://life-on-earth.ru/sokhranenie-bioraznoobraziya/amudarinskie-lopatonosy-turkmenistan * ''L. S. Berg, Freshwater Fishes of the USSR and the neighboring countries, Part I, the 4th Edition, Zoological Institute of Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Publishing House of Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow-Leningrad 1948 - basic data on Pseudoscaphirhynchus hermanni (pages 105 and 108) and picture of the crease on the external edge of pectoral fin (page 109):'' http://life-on-earth.ru/images/Plesheevo1/Berg_Fishes_of_the_USSR_Part1.PDF * ''V.B. Sal'nikov, Ichtyofauna of Amu Darya River in Turkmenistan: The Updated List and Native Species Populations Status, Article, 2012, published by life-on-earth.ru website in 2016:'' http://life-on-earth.ru/images/Lopatonosy-Turkmenistan/Salnikov_Ichtiofauna_of_Amudarya_River.pdf Pseudoscaphirhynchus Freshwater fish of Asia Fish of Central Asia Fauna of Tajikistan Critically endangered fish Critically endangered fauna of Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Fish described in 1877 {{Acipenseriformes-stub