Eight species of Acipenseriformes are native to
China. Kaluga Huso dauricus and Amur sturgeon
Acipenser schrenckii are shared with Russia in the
Amur River system, and Siberian sturgeon A. baerii
and sterlet A. ruthenus with Kazakhstan and Russia
in the Irtysh River. Acipenser nudiventris occurs in
the Ili River, which is a tributary of Lake Balkhash
in Kazakhstan. The remaining three species, Chinese
sturgeon A. sinensis, Dabry’s sturgeon A. dabryanus
and Chinese paddlefish Psephurus gladius,
are endemic to China, particularly the Yangtze River
and China Sea. In 1988, North American paddle-