had also been struck by the appearance of large female sturgeon full of caviar and heavy- laden 

 like beasts of burden. These were given the Sanskrit names staera or sh'irin, words which are 

 still in use (German, stor; Scandinavian, styrga). 



The wels fishes (Siliirus glanisj inhabit the great rivers of eastern Europe. They seek still 

 waters where they forage in the mud with six small barbels set on the jaws. They reach a 

 length of about 6j to 10 feet and are very voracious. The most frightful crimes have been 

 levelled against them, Gesner asserting that the stomach of one of these cat-fishes contained a 

 human head and a hand bearing gold rings. Lambs and children, first one, then the other, 

 were also alleged to be eaten. These cat-fishes spawn in summer, the females brushing out a 

 hole with the tail in which to lay their eggs. Attempts to acclimatise an American cat-fish 

 (Ameiiinis nebulosus) in Europe have had unforeseen results, for these New World fishes straight- 

 way cleared out the ponds in which they were placed. 



Sturgeons belong to a very ancient group in fish evolution. Together with the spoon- 

 bills of China and America they are relicts of the archaic group of chondrostean fishes which 

 reached the peak of their evolution in the Jurassic period. The long head with the extended 

 rostrum is armoured with a solid shield of dermal bones and the naked body is set with five 

 rows of shield-like, supporting plates. As in sharks, the tail is turned up. There are small 

 barbels on the snout and the small tubular mouth opens on the lower side of the head, thus 

 enabling the sturgeon to suck in its food. 



The Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser sliirio) spends the marine feeding phase of its life close 

 to the coasts of Europe and North America. In spring they ascend the rivers to spawn, seeking 

 sandy banks in deep, rapidly-flowing, well-aerated waters. The females are distended with 

 black or greyish, sticky eggs, which can number more than three million. These are the valuable 

 caviar. At spawning time the eggs are laid in clusters on no particular support ; on gravel, 

 algae or roots. The incubation time varies according to temperature and lasts from 2 to 

 3 months at 20°C. The young fishes go down-stream in September and remain in coastal 

 waters until they have grown to 3 to 4 i feet. Then they venture into deeper waters, as far 

 as the edge of the continental shelf. Here they suck up worms and small molluscs from the 

 mud and grow faster. In France this fine species is now disappearing, being found only in the 

 drainage-basins of the Garonne and the Dordogne, where it is the basis of a caviar industry. 

 But there is a danger of this being jeopardised owing to the lack of interest by public author- 

 ities. Indeed, sturgeons are destroyed as they ascend the rivers by the boom-nets of the naval 

 conscripts. In fresh water their spawn is damaged by river-cleaning operations, and ripe stur- 

 geon are hunted by poachers. On descending seawards the young fish are again killed by the 

 same naval conscripts, these always being assured of impunity. The protests of biologists 

 and people in the French caviar trade have been of no avail, for it is better to sacrifice a national 

 resource than to displease the electorate. 



In geological times the Aralo-Caspian Depression connected the Baltic with the Black Sea, 

 and extended northwards from the Aral sea area to the Ob basin. This was part of the northern 

 Eurasiatic land-system and it is still the " chosen " country of sturgeon. Six species are found 

 there. As well as the western sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) there are the pastruga (A. slellatus), 

 the nisetru (A. giildensiaedti) the morun or beluga (A. huso), the sterlet (A. ridhenus) and the 

 viza (A. glaher). Of these the largest is the beluga, which may weigh close on a ton. In a 

 large female there is more than 220 lbs of caviar, which surely suggests large beasts of burden 

 that are bled much like cattle. The viza has become a freshwater fish, no longer making the 

 descent to the sea. In their marine phase, the other species live on the muddy, in-shore grounds 

 of the Black Sea, feeding there on shell-fishes, such as mussels and cockles; on worms, small 

 crustaceans and fishes such as small anchovies. Young sturgeon that have made their first 

 migration to the sea, live side by side on these feeding grounds with adults that have come to 

 regain their strength. There are also animals that have become sterile with age, giants of 

 1.800 pounds, spending all their time in feeding. 



Towards autumn sturgeon begin moving into the deltas to spend the winter in deep holes. 

 In the Danube others await the spring break-up of the ice before making their ascent, the males 

 in February and the females in March. The mouth of this great river is a great freshwater 



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