Beluga: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the beluga lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Huso huso
Group	Bony fish
Status	Critically endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	3 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Acipenseriformes
Family	Acipenseridae

Where does the beluga live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the beluga in 3 countries and territories across Asia and Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the beluga endangered?

The beluga’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Critically endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the beluga?

The beluga (Huso huso) is a ray-finned fish in the order Acipenseriformes and the family Acipenseridae, genus Huso. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the beluga

The beluga (), also known as the beluga sturgeon or great sturgeon (Huso huso), is a species of sturgeon, which are anadromous fish of the family Acipenseridae of the order Acipenseriformes. It is found primarily in the Caspian and Black Sea basins, and formerly in the Adriatic Sea. Based on maximum size, it is the third-most-massive living species of bony fish. Heavily fished for the female's valuable roe, known as beluga caviar, wild populations have been greatly reduced by overfishing and poaching, leading IUCN to classify the species as critically endangered.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Beluga (sturgeon) (revision 1375739305), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q191816 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).