Sterlet: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the sterlet lives – recorded in 8 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Acipenser ruthenus
Group	Bony fish
Status	Endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	8 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Acipenseriformes
Family	Acipenseridae

Where does the sterlet live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the sterlet in 8 countries and territories across Europe. In Belgium, Germany, France it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Russia
Belgium (introduced)
France (introduced)
Serbia
Ukraine
Slovakia
Germany (introduced)
Bosnia and Herzegovina

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 sterlet endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the sterlet?

The sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) is a ray-finned fish in the order Acipenseriformes and the family Acipenseridae, genus Acipenser. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the sterlet

The sterlet (Huso ruthenus) is a relatively small species of sturgeon from Eurasia native to large rivers that flow into the Black Sea, Azov Sea, and Caspian Sea, as well as rivers in Siberia as far east as Yenisei. Populations migrating between fresh and salt water (anadromous) have been extirpated. It is also known as the sterlet sturgeon.

Due to overfishing (for its flesh, caviar, and isinglass), pollution, and dams, the sterlet has declined throughout its native range and is considered endangered by the IUCN. Restocking projects are ongoing, and it has been introduced to some regions outside its native range, but the latter have generally not become self-sustaining. Today, the majority of the international trade involves sterlets from aquaculture.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Sterlet (revision 1378850286), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q211316 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).