Bastard sturgeon
The bastard sturgeon, fringebarbel sturgeon, ship sturgeon, spiny sturgeon, or thorn sturgeon is a species of fish in the family Acipenseridae. Formerly abundant in the Black, Aral and Caspian seas, its range is now primarily limited to the Ural River, with possible relict populations in the Rioni River in Georgia and the Safid Rud in Iran. The healthiest population is one in Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan, well outside its natural range, where they were introduced in the 1960s for commercial purposes. It has been reported that this fish has the highest relative fecundity for any sturgeon species.
