American Paddlefish
OrderAcipenseriformes
FamilyPolyodontidae
HabitatRivers
RangeMississippi Basin
Max Length220 cm
Max Weight90 kg
DietFilter feeder
About the American Paddlefish
Named for its long, paddle-shaped snout, which is covered with sensors that detect the electric fields of plankton. Swims with its mouth wide open to filter food from the water. A relative of sturgeons with a mostly cartilage skeleton. Its eggs are sold as caviar. Its Chinese relative was declared extinct in 2022.
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