Acipenser

Acipenser Temporal range: 70.6–Present Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Acipenseriformes
Family:	Acipenseridae
Genus:	Acipenser Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758
Species
see text
Synonyms[1]
Dinoctus Rafinesque 1818 Sturio Rafinesque 1810 Acipenser (Euacipenser) Murgoci 1942

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.^[2]

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Taxonomy

Acipenser sturio is the type species of the genus

Prior to 2025, Acipenser contained almost all species in the Acipenseridae outside of Huso and the "shovelnose" sturgeons (Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus). However, such a placement is now known to be paraphyletic with respect to the other genera, and these species have since been split into Huso and Sinosturio. Acipenser in the strict sense (sensu stricto) has been redefined with only 3 species.^[3]

This is an ancient genus, with phylogenetic evidence suggesting that it is the most basal sturgeon genus, having diverged from other sturgeons during the Early Cretaceous period. Several fossil species known as far back as the Late Cretaceous, with the fossils of two species (A. praeparatorum and A. amnisinferos) known from mass mortality assemblages thought to immediately follow the Chicxulub impact, the beginning of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.^[4] However, the classification of these fossil species is uncertain under the new taxonomy; for example, "Acipenser" praeparatorum may actually represent a more derived sturgeon related to the Huso-Pseudoscaphirhynchus lineage.^[3]

Extant species

Illustration of Acipenser gigantissimus

The following three species are placed in this genus:^[2]

• Acipenser desotoi Vladykov, 1955 (Gulf sturgeon)
• Acipenser oxyrinchus Mitchill, 1815 (Atlantic sturgeon)
• Acipenser sturio Linnaeus, 1758 (type species) (European sea sturgeon)

Fossil species

The following species are known from fossil remains, under a sensu lato interpretation of the genus. Almost all aside from A. anisinferos and A. praeparatorum^[5] are thought to be nomina dubia.^[6]

• †Acipenser albertensis Lambe, 1902 (Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada)
• †Acipenser anisinferos Hilton & Grande, 2023 (Late Cretaceous of North Dakota, USA)^[7]
• †Acipenser chilini Nessov, 1983 (Early Paleocene of Kazakhstan)
• ?†Acipenser cretaceous Daimeries, 1892 (Late Cretaceous of Belgium; potentially a teleost)
• †Acipenser eruciferus Cope, 1876 (Late Cretaceous of Montana, USA)
• †Acipenser gigantissimus Nessov, 1997 (Late Cretaceous of Saratov, Russia)^[8]
• †Acipenser lemoinei (Priem, 1901) (Early Eocene of France)
• ?†Acipenser molassicus Probst, 1882 (Miocene of Germany; potentially a chondrichthyan)
• †Acipenser ornatus Leidy, 1873 (Miocene of Virginia, USA)
• †Acipenser parisiensis Priem, 1908 (Early Oligocene of France)
• †Acipenser praeparatorum Hilton & Grande, 2023 (Late Cretaceous of North Dakota, USA)^[7]
• †Acipenser toliapicus Agassiz 1844 ex Woodward 1889 (Early Eocene of England)
• ?†Acipenser tuberculosus Probst 1882 (Miocene of Germany; potentially a chondrichthyan)
• †Acipenser zhylgensis Nessov, 1983 (Early Paleocene of Kazakhstan)

References

1. "Acipenseridae" (PDF). Deeplyfish- fishes of the world. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
2. Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Acipenser". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 May 2025.
3. Brownstein, Chase D.; Near, Thomas J. (2025-04-25). "Toward a Phylogenetic Taxonomy of Sturgeons (Acipenseriformes: Acipenseridae)". Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 66 (1). doi:10.3374/014.066.0101. ISSN 0079-032X.
4. Hilton, E. J.; Grande, L. (2022). "Late Cretaceous sturgeons (Acipenseridae) from North America, with two new species from the Tanis site in the Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota". Journal of Paleontology. 97: 1–29. doi:10.1017/jpa.2022.81.
5. Hilton, Eric J.; Grande, Lance (2023). "Late Cretaceous sturgeons (Acipenseridae) from North America, with two new species from the Tanis site in the Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota". Journal of Paleontology. 97 (1): 189–217. doi:10.1017/jpa.2022.81. ISSN 0022-3360.
6. Grande, Lance; Hilton, Eric J. (2006). "An Exquisitely Preserved Skeleton Representing a Primitive Sturgeon from the Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana (Acipenseriformes: Acipenseridae: N. gen. and sp.)". Memoir (The Paleontological Society). 65: 1–39. ISSN 0078-8597.
7. Hilton, Eric J.; Grande, Lance (2023). "Late Cretaceous sturgeons (Acipenseridae) from North America, with two new species from the Tanis site in the Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota". Journal of Paleontology. 97 (1): 189–217. doi:10.1017/jpa.2022.81. ISSN 0022-3360.
8. Ye.V, Popov; A.a, Yarkov (2001). "A NEW GIANT SPECIES OF EDAPHODON (HOLOCEPHALI: EDAPHODONTIDAE) FROM THE BERYOZOVAYA BEDS (LOWER PALEOCENE) OF THE VOLGOGRAD VOLGA REGION". Paleontological Journal. 35 (2). ISSN 0031-0301.

External links

• Data related to Acipenser at Wikispecies
• Media related to Acipenser at Wikimedia Commons
• The dictionary definition of acipenser at Wiktionary