The Sakhalin sturgeon or Mikado sturgeon (''Sinosturio mikadoi'') 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

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Taxonomy

Prior to 2025, it was placed in the genus ''

Acipenser ''Acipenser'' is a genus of sturgeons, containing three species native to freshwater and estuarine systems of eastern North America and Europe. It is the type genus of the family Acipenseridae and the order Acipenseriformes. Taxonomy Prior t ...

''. However, this placement was long known to be

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

. In 2025, it was moved to the revived genus '' Sinosturio''.

Environment

The Sakhalin sturgeon is known to be found in either a marine or freshwater environment within demersal depth range. This species is found in brackish waters. They are also native to a tropical climate.

Size

The Sakhalin sturgeon has reached the maximum recorded length of about 150 centimeters or about 59 inches as a tall fish.

Biology

The Sakhalin sturgeon is considered to be a species that migrates up the river from the sea in order to spawn. During the months of April to May, the Sakhalin sturgeon feeds in the freshwater and then returns to the ocean during the summer. The Sakhalin sturgeon (Acipenser mikadoi), which lives in the Amur River basin in China and Russia, and the green sturgeon (A. medirostris), which lives along the Pacific coast of North America, are two different species of sturgeon. Despite their geographical isolation, these two species may have had a recent common ancestor due to the similarities in their mitochondrial genomes.

Identification

The Sakhalin sturgeon is recorded to be the colors of olive-green and dark green. Its sides have a yellowish white color and it includes an olive green stripe. The bottom lip of this species is split into two.

Distribution

The Sakhalin sturgeon is commonly found in the areas of Northwest Pacific, Bering Sea, Tumnin or Datta river, northern Japan, and Korea. This species currently spawns persistently in the Tumnin River.

Threats

The threats that are affecting the population of the Sakhalin sturgeon include illegal poaching, trawling, accidental bycatch, pollution, and construction of dams. Currently, the species' population is significantly decreasing and is on the brink of extinction.

Taxonomy

According to recent genetic data, the differences between the mitogenomes of the Sakhalin sturgeon (''Sinosturio mikadoi'') and the Green sturgeon (''Sinosturio medirostris'') to correspond to the variability at the intraspecific level. The time since the divergence of the Sakhalin sturgeon and the Green sturgeon may be approximately 160,000 years.

References

Sources

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1842196 Acipenser Fish of East Asia Fish of Japan Fish of Russia

sturgeon 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 ...

Critically endangered fish Critically endangered biota of Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Franz Martin Hilgendorf Fish described in 1892