of pertinent information that can be quickly located
in order to make conservation recommendations
Description
Dabry’s sturgeon is a freshwater fish, attaining a
length of more than 130 cm, and weight of more
than 16 kg. It is very similar in shape to similar sized
Chinese sturgeon, but Chinese sturgeon achieve
much larger sizes than do Dabry’s sturgeon. The
body of young Dabry’s sturgeon is very rough be-
cause of many bony plates on the skin. This may
provide a good distinction between young Dabry’s
sturgeon and Chinese sturgeon (Fu 1988). In addi-
tion, at similar total lengths, the rostrum of Dabry’s
sturgeon is slightly shorter than that of Chinese
sturgeon. Adult Dabry’s sturgeon have more than
30 gill rakers whereas Chinese sturgeon have fewer
than 28.
Above the lateral row of scutes. the body of Da-
bry’s sturgeon is dark gray, brown gray or yellow
gray in color; the rest of the body is milky white in
color. The lateral row of scutes is a distinct color
demarcation line until the fish reaches adult size.
Table 1 shows some meristic characteristics of
adults.
Distribution and habitatDabry’s sturgeon is restricted to the Yangtze River
system. Historically, under the natural, unaltered
conditions that existed until the middle of the 20th
century, Dabry’s sturgeon widely inhabited the up-
per and middle reaches of the Yangtze River and its
large tributaries, including the Ming, Tuo,. Jialing,
Xiang and Han rivers, as well as the large lakes link-
ing up with the Yangtze River (Figure 1). At pre-
sent, Dabry’s sturgeon is mainly distributed in the
upper main stream of the Yangtze River as it passes
through Sichuan Province. It also enters major trib-
utaries, including the Ming, Tuo, and Jialing rivers.
Occasionally, it occurs in the lower and middle sec-
tions of the Yangtze River. It is now rare in Dongt-
ing Lake (Hunan Province) and Poyang Lake
(Jiangxi Province). although it was formerly report-
ed from these places.
Dabry’s sturgeon is a potamodromous freshwa-
ter fish that inhabits sandy shoals, with silt ground
and gentle water flow. When the water level rises in
the mainstream in the spring, the fish move into the
tributaries to feed. Young individuals often stay in
sandy shallows, and occur frequently in stretches
between Luzhou and Jiangjing, Sichuan Province,
where the current velocity is not rapid (Zhang et al.
1988). Dabry’s sturgeon is often found in areas
where there are drainage pipelines of waste water
that promote growth of prey foods. Although Da-Table 2. Percent occurrence of different foods in different life intervals of Dabry’s sturgeon (modified from Zen et al. 1990).Standard length ranges (cm)Food category Below 10 10 - 15 15 - 40 Above 40
Oligochacta 100.0 50.0 10.5 29.8
Plecoptera 0.0 8.3 18.4 0.0
Ephemeroptera 0.0 16.7 28.9 11.8
Odonata 0.0 0.0 34.2 29.8
Chironomidae 0.0 33.3 3 I .6 22.2
Other insects 0.0 8.3 15.6 31.0
Plankton 50.0 0.0 0.0 3. 87
Bacillariophyta 50.0 8.3 5.3 0.0
Chlorophyta 50.0 8.3 13.2 3.7
Other plants 0.0 16.7 10.5 37.0
Shrimps 0.0 50.0 13.2 29.8
Gobiidae 0.0 66.7 36.8 18.5