The Chinese Sturgeon is the earliest known and most primitive vertebrate. It is also an ancient rare fish species only found in China and is known as “giant panda in the water” and “the King of Fish in the Yangtze River”.

The Chinese Sturgeon is also called “huso”. It is a member of the Acipenseridae family of Acipenseriformes order and has a long, fusiform body that looks powerful. Its body can be as long as over 4 meters and can weigh over 500 kg. It is ranked as the largest of all 27 types of sturgeons in the world. The Chinese Sturgeon is a migratory fish species. They usually dwell along the coasts of western North Korea in the north and China's eastern areas in the south. After 9-18 years’ living in the sea, they’ll migrate to the Yangtze River in shoals and will reach the upper stream of the Yangtze River in Sichuan area and the lower section of the Jinshajiang River for propagation.   

The physical structure of the Chinese Sturgeon is special. It bears some characteristics of ancient soft backbone fish and those of modern-day hard backbone fish. Its body is similar to that of a shark, with big bone-like scales, a tapering head and a mouth below the jaw. Its body shows some signs of biological evolution. As such, it’s called the “living fossil” of marine life. The Chinese Sturgeon is of great academic and scientific value. It’s a treasure of the Yangtze River!

The Chinese Sturgeon is the descendent of the common ancestor of all fish species-ancient stickleback. It is thought to have lived at the same time as dinosaurs, dating back to a period 140 million years ago. For various reasons, this rare animal is on the brink of extinction. Therefore, China has made the investment and built artificial breeding research institutions to protect the Chinese Sturgeon-a “living fossil” of the sea.