Beluga (Huso huso)

General data

Main name: Beluga
Local names: Beluga sturgeon, Great sturgeon
Climates: Temperate, Continental, Subpolar
Habitat: Anadromous
Native: Europe
Distribution: Danube, Caspian Sea, Volga, Ural, Don, Dnieper

Classification

Genus: Huso - Beluga sturgeons
Family: Acipenseridae - Sturgeons
Order: Acipenseriformes - Sturgeons and Paddlefish
Class: Chondrostei - Sturgeons
Superclass: Osteichthyes - Bony fishes

Description

The beluga, also known as the beluga sturgeon or great sturgeon (Huso huso), is a species of anadromous fish in the sturgeon family (Acipenseridae) of order Acipenseriformes. It is found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, and formerly in the Adriatic Sea. Based on maximum size, it is the third-most-massive living species of bony fish. Heavily fished for the valuable roe, known as beluga caviar, wild populations have been greatly reduced by overfishing and poaching, leading IUCN to classify the species as critically endangered.

Beluga (Huso huso)

General data

Classification

Description

Taxonomy of Fishes