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G.M.Palatnikov,  R.U.Qasimov
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immemorial when the sea was connected to the Arctic Ocean, and remained 
here forever. The Caspian seals form packs and feed on small fi shes  and 
crustaceans. During spawning the seals display their ‘northern’ habits. The 
white-coat seals are born in winter in the northern part of the Caspian and 
they stay on ice fl oats until they learn to swim and forage. The seals have 
been intensively hunted for their valuable fur. Today hunting has virtually 
ceased but the seal population continues to diminish.
Caspian Seal (
Phoca (Pusa) caspica
 Gmelin, 1788)
Through the XX century there was a 2.5-fold decrease in the Caspian seal 
population, from 1 million to 400 thousand. Before hunting was restricted in 
1970 the main factor that determined the population size was unregulated 
hunting. In the last quarter of the century the population began to be badly 
aff ected by anthropogenic factors, pollution in particular. Today the Caspian 
seal population is critically endangered. Scientists say the mass mortality of 
seals in 1997, 1998 and 2000 is explained by ‘cumulative toxicosis’. i.e. the 
accumulation of toxic substances in their bodies.
So is it possible to save the inhabitants of the Caspian Sea?
Yes, it is. This requires the following:
Signing intergovernmental conventions on the joint hauling, 
• 
protection and reproduction of cross-border reserves of sturgeons, as well as 
on expanding the scale of its natural and hatchery reproduction
Preservation of natural reproduction. The sturgeon spawning grounds 
• 
in the Ural region require proper fi shery management. Spawners amounting 
to at least 60% of the total population of barbel sturgeon must be let into the 

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Ural River. Irretrievable water consumption in the Kura must be reduced and 
the water supply regulated eff ectively to increase the water content of the 
river.
Reinforcing the fi ght against poaching in the Volga, Ural and Kura, 
• 
for which purpose an international fi sheries conservation authority needs to 
be established.
A complete ban on sturgeon hauling at sea; use of off shore sturgeon 
• 
populations in fi sh farming only. 

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BIOLOGICAL GLOSSARY
Bathymetry (from Greek bathos, deep) – an area of the seabed that matches 
corresponds to a continental slope.
Benthophage (from Greek benthos, depth and phagos, eater) – an animal 
that feeds on eats the organisms living on the bott om of a water body.
Biocoenosis  (from Greek bios, life and coenosis, common) – an 
interacting population of micro-organisms, plants, mushrooms and 
animals living together in a more or less homogenous land area or in a water 
body. It is characterized with by certain relations of the organisms between 
each other and their adaptation to the environment.
Biota  (from Greek biota, life)  – 1) historically formed collection of life 
forms living in a geographic region, sometimes isolated with by barriers. As 
against In contrast with the notions of biocoenosis and biom, the biota does not 
imply any ecological bonds between species.
Caddisfl ies – order Trichoptera (with complete metamorphosis). Their 
larvae live in water. Some species are predators and some plant-eaters. They 
are the food for many species of valuable commercial fi shes.
Clam worms - genus of polychaete worms. They are widespread in seas, 
tropical seas in particular, and sometimes in brackish waters. They have been 
successfully introduced in the Caspian Sea and Sea of Aral to improve the 
food reserve for sturgeons.
Convergence (from Latin convergere,  to incline together). This term 
pertains to the occurrence, as the result of natural selection, of matching 
anatomic and morphological, physiological and/or behavioral characteristics 
with in groups of organisms groups, which are relatively distant in terms 
of genetics. For example, the matching shapes of sharks and whales. The 
organs which acquired similarity in the course of Convergence are called 
analogues.
Delta (of river) – a low land area that is formed from the deposition 
of the sediment carried by the river at the mouth of a river with numerous 
distributaries and tributaries where that river fl ows into an ocean, sea, estuary, 
or lake.

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Endemic (from Greek endemos, local) – local species or another classifi ed 
category that lives in a given region only.
Endogenous nutrition (from Greek endon, inside) – process of digestion 
by an organism of so-called endogenic substances, i.e. the substances that 
comprise the organism itself. For sturgeon fries, these are the nourishments 
nutrients located in the yolk sac.
Epigamic sex determination (from Greek epi, aft er and gamete, germinal 
cell) – observed in heterosexual species with phenotypic sex determination, 
when direction of evolution towards the male or female sex is conditioned by 
the impact of external exposure following fertilization.
Estuary – a wide mouth of a river fl owing into the a lake, sea or the ocean. 
It occurs in places where the adjoining part of the sea (lake, ocean) has a big 
depth is very deep, while the sediments carried by the river are constantly 
removed by ocean currents. Cf. See River delta.
Euryphagous (from Greek euros, wide and phagos, eater) – omnivore.
Exogenous nutrition (from Greek exo, outside): external nutrition of fi sh 
fries, to which they pass progress when their yolk sac vanishes or shortly 
before it gets used out is exhausted.
Fetalization (from Latin fetus, embryo) – way  method of evolutionary 
changes in  of organisms resulting in the retention in the adult of characteristics 
that at an earlier stage of evolution were only infantile. An example can 
beis the cartilaginous skeleton of contemporary cartilaginous and round-
mouthed  fi shes. FThe fetalization can aff ect any feature of the phenotype: 
morphological, physiological or behavioral. Fetalization It enables makes it 
possible to get rid of specialized features of the adult form, which proved 
disadvantageous for the organism in condition of changinge of environmental 
conditions.
Gonades: germ glands of males and females.
Herbicide (from Latin herba, grass and caedere,  kill) – the a substance 
used for the selective elimination of undesirwanted plants. All herbicides are 
dangerous for humans and animals alike.
Hybride: an individual that occurred as the he result of interbreeding 
between two animals or plants of diff erent species or taxa. Depending 
on the species and the nature of the genetic heredity, hybrids inherit the 
characteristics from both parents to the a diff erent extent.

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Mayfl ies – class Insecta (with incomplete metamorphosis). Their nymphs 
live in water and evolve develop over for 2 or 3 years. During mating, some 
species appear in a huge quantity above the water. The lifespan of an adult 
mayfl y can vary from just a few hours to several days. Both the adults and 
nymphs have a great signifi cance as the food for fi sh and other marine 
animals.
Mysidacea – class Malacostraca. Widespread in all seas and oceans. Some 
freshwater forms also exist. Due to their abundance they form an important 
part of the normal diet of many fi shes.
Non-migratory (potamodromous) form: By their biology, the fi shes are 
split divided into three forms: catadromous, diadromous and non-migratory. 
The range of catadromous fi shes includes rivers with tributaries and near-
mouth areas with desalted water. Catadromous fi shes live both in fresh and 
brackish waters. Non-migratory fi shes are those which live in fresh waters, 
and do not go on long migrationse too long; these are lacustrine and fl uvio-
lacustrine forms that occur both in fl owing and still waters.
Oligochaetes: oligochaete annelids, biological phylum Annelida. They 
mainly live in soil and freshwaters. They are used as a food for young sturgeon 
individuals at the in hatcheries.
Pelagic species (from Greek pelagos, open sea) –  the species living in the 
open sea.
Polychaetes (annelids) – class of annelid worms; generally marine, less 
oft en freshwater. They are a signifi cant part of diet for eaten en masse by fi shes 
and other animals. Of most The highest importance in the feeood balance is 
given to  are calm worms and sandworms.
Spawning grounds: place of spawning, which is specifi c for all species 
of fi sh.
Spawning: laying of reproductive products by fi shes; furthermore,  most 
fi shes have their eggs fertilized in water, outside the body of the female.
Spiracle (spiraculum) - small opening behind the eyes, which embryonically 
derived from the fi rst gill opening (sharks, guitarfi sh, sturgeons).
Yolk sac: att ributive inherent to embryos (fries) of fi sh; it contains the 
reserve of nourishment yolk, which is necessary until external (exogenous) 
nutrition begins. In bony fi sh embryos, the yolk sac is usually situated in the 
perigastrium, while sturgeon fries have it as a pear-shaped formation on the 
underside.

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Sturgeons – contemporaries of dinosaurs
165
REFERENCE
Yu.A. Abdurakhmanov. Freshwater Fish of Azerbaij an. Baku, 1962, 405pp.
1. 
F.S. Askerov, Y.Y. Zaitsev, R.Y. Kasimov, Z. Kuliyev. Amazing Caspian 
2. 
Fishes. Baku, 2001, 162 pp.
L. Vasilyeva. Sturgeons: The Past, Present and Future.
3. 
(www.worldofanimals.ru/stLmenu/2/st4.html)
The Paddlefi sh, Or The Predator That Loves Turbidity and Noise. 
4. 
(htt p://fi shworld.narod.ru/ap/Polyodontidae.html)
Species: Siberian Sturgeon (Achipenser baerii).
5. 
(www.fi shportal.ru/ih/ih_33.)
Sturgeon Breeding. (
6. htt p://mshp.minsk.by/fi sh/html/tehno4.html)
Caviar: So Much in that Sound…(
7. www.ikra.narod.ru/RUS/NATUR)
A. Mustafayev. The Return of Sturgeon. 
8. 
Ogonek magazine
(www.ogoniok.com/archive/1996/4450-2/99-33-33)
A.Orujov. Sturgeons in the Caspian Sea. 
9. 
WWF and CEPF for conservation 
in Caucasus. Newslett er February 2005.
Sturgeons – materials from 
10. www.anim.clow.ru 
and
www.caspianenvironment.org/biodb/rus/fi shes/Acipenser%20gueldenstaedtii
Sturgeon, Fish of the Family Acipenseridae. 
11. 
(www.haleymartin.com/075/75154.htm)
V. Palgui. Sturgeons: The Actual Situation. 
12. 
Russian Hunt Newspaper, 
April 05, 2006.
A.Ponomarev. Family Acipenseridae. (
13. www.internevod.com)
About Black Caviar. (
14. htt p://uralbas.ru/rus/sturgeon.htm)
L.P. Sabaneev. Life and Catching Freshwater Fish. Kiev. 1976, 667 pp.
15. 
A.G. Tarasov. A Caspian Without Sturgeons is a Caspian Without a 
16. 
Future. Wildlife Protection magazine, #4 (34) 2005, pp. 13-16
A.M. Tokranov. Kaluga Sturgeon.
17. 
(www.npacifi c.ru/np/library/encicl/15/0017.htm)
Black Gold. Some Useful Information on Black Caviar.
18. 
(www.wirud-cosmetic.com)
V. Shirokov. The Queen of the Amur Waters, Kaluga Sturgeon. In: 
19. 
Amur Morning weekly, online version. June 6, 2006 (#12).

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G.M.Palatnikov,  R.U.Qasimov
166
A BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT AUTHORS
Prof. Rafi k Kasimov. Corresponding member of the 
Azerbaij an National Academy of Sciences, Doctor 
of Sciences (Biology), Professor. He is a Head of the 
Department of Ecological Physiology and Toxicol-
ogy of the Garaev Institute of Physiology, NAS. He 
is an author of 6 monographies and more than 300 
scientifi c articles. He has trained 6 doctors and 34 
candidates of sciences.
Doctor Grigoriy Palatnikov, PhD. Leading research-
er of the Department of Ecological Physiology and 
Toxicology of the Garaev Institute of Physiology, 
NAS. He is an author of more than 100 scientifi c ar-
ticles.

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Sturgeons – contemporaries of dinosaurs
167
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................87
GOING BACK TO HISTORY ...............................................................................88
 
The caspian sea and its misteries ..................................................................91
CONTEMPORARIES OF DINOSAURS .............................................................98
 
Sturgeon Family (Acipenseridae) .................................................................99
CASPIAN STURGEONS .....................................................................................104
 
Beluga – Huso huso (Linnaeus, 1758) ........................................................104
 
STURGEON GENUS – ACIPENSER..........................................................109
 
Russian Sturgeon – Acipenser gueldenstaedtii Brandt, 1833 ..........109
 
Persian sturgeon Acipenser guldenstadti persiusBorodin, 1897 ....113 
Barbel sturgeon – Acipenser nudiventris Lovetsky, 1828 .......................115
 
Starred sturgeon – Acipenser stellatus Pallas, 1771 ..........................118
 
STERLET – Acipenser ruthenus Linn’e, 1758 ....................................121
STURGEONS IN WATERRESERVOIRS OF OUR PLANET ..........................124
 
Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser sturio L., 1758 .......................................125
 
Subfamily of shovelnose sturgeons (Scaphirhynchinae) .................136
 
Genus shovelnose sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus) .................................137
 
PADDLEFISH FAMILY (POLYODONTIDAE) .........................................145
WHAT DOES MANGET FROM STURGEON? ...............................................147
STURGEONS AND THE PROBLEM OF
BIODIVERSITY PRESERVATION .....................................................................154
 
So how can we save them? ..........................................................................156
BIOLOGICAL GLOSSARY .................................................................................162
REFERENCE .........................................................................................................165
A BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT AUTHORS ...............................................166

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Q.M.Palatnikov, G.M.Palatnikov,
 R.Y.Qasımov R.U.Qasimov
 
NƏRƏKİMİLƏR – 
STURGEONS –
 
DİNOZAVRLARIN HƏMƏSRLƏRİ 
CONTEMPORARIES OF DINOSAURS
 
 
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