Bony fish · Acipenseriformes · Polyodontidae
Paddlefish
Polyodon spathula
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
Weight
49.9 kg on average
Size
up to 2.2 m
Lifespan
30 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- GeneralIts flat rostrum detects the electric fields of the plankton it filters as it swims.
- It feeds by filtering zooplankton with its gill rakers as it swims with its mouth open; the adults have no teeth, although the juveniles do.
- Its paddle-shaped snout is covered in electroreceptors with which it locates clouds of plankton in turbid water.
- It vanished from the Great Lakes basin, where it is considered extirpated.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - largely cartilaginous internal skeleton (chondrostean)
- Habitat & environment
- Large slow rivers, reservoirs and backwaters
- Sexual maturity
- 9 years
Sources consulted: FishBase (Froese & Pauly, eds.); Lista Roja de la UICN (evaluación de 2022); Animal Diversity Web (Universidad de Michigan)
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Paddlefish — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Alligator Snapping Turtle
Macrochelys temminckii
Hellbender
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis
Eastern Box Turtle
Terrapene carolina
Alligator Gar
Atractosteus spatula
Longnose Gar
Lepisosteus osseus
Bowfin
Amia calva
How to help
The paddlefish is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 5 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about paddlefish.
Comments
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