Siberian Sturgeon

The Siberian sturgeon is a large, long-lived bottom-feeding fish with an ancient body plan. Mongolia holds it only at the edge of its broad Asian range, and the national assessment considers it critically endangered. Five rows of bony scutes, a pointed snout, four barbels before the mouth and an asymmetrical tail separate it from Mongolia's bony fishes.

In Mongolia it is associated with the Onon River basin, part of the Amur drainage. It searches the riverbed for invertebrates and other animal food. Adults migrate within river systems to reproduce. It is exceptionally scarce; the Onon basin is its documented Mongolian range, but observation should never involve disturbance or capture.