The Syr Darya sturgeon (''Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi'') is a species of fish in the family

Acipenseridae Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Early ...

. It is found in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, where it is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

Syr Darya River The Syr Darya (, ),, , ; rus, Сырдарья́, Syrdarjja, p=sɨrdɐˈrʲja; fa, سيردريا, Sirdaryâ; tg, Сирдарё, Sirdaryo; tr, Seyhun, Siri Derya; ar, سيحون, Seyḥūn; uz, Sirdaryo, script-Latn/. historically known ...

and, before its drainage, the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic lake lying between Kazak ...

. Due to the loss of its breeding site and damming projects over the length of the river, it is currently considered Critically Endangered and likely

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

, as no sightings have been reported since the 1960s. The sturgeon is among the 25 "most wanted lost" species that are the focus of

Global Wildlife Conservation Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

's "Search for Lost Species" initiative. Stamps of Tajikistan, 011-03

References

Pseudoscaphirhynchus Freshwater fish of Asia Fish of Central Asia Fauna of Tajikistan Critically endangered fish Critically endangered fauna of Asia Fish described in 1872 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Acipenseriformes-stub