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Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792)

Mississippi paddlefish
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Polyodon spathula
Picture by Moreau, J.


United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Mississippi paddlefish, Paddlefish
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Missouri Department of Conservation, 2008
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Known from Mississippi River basin from southwestern New York to Montana and south to Louisiana; Gulf Slope drainagaes from Mobile Bay in Alabama, to Galveston Bay in Texas. Formerly in Great Lakes basin, probably extirpated (Ref. 86798). Also 276, 5723, 10294. Status of threat: vulnerable; status same as 1989. Criteria: 1,2 (http://fisc.er.usgs.gov/afs/) (Ref. 81264).
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Nombres comunes | Sinónimos | Catalog of Fishes(Género, Especie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons and paddlefishes) > Polyodontidae (Paddlefishes)
Etymology: Polyodon: Greek, polys = a lot of + Greek, odous = teeth (Ref. 45335);  spathula: Polyodon, many toothed, perhaps due to the numerous gill rakers because adult paddlefish lack teeth, although young fish has many small teeth, and spathula meaning spatula, due to its elongated snout (Ref. 79012).
  More on author: Walbaum.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecología

; agua dulce demersal; potamodromo (Ref. 51243); rango de profundidad 2 - ? m.   Subtropical; 10°C - 18°C (Ref. 2060); 49°N - 29°N, 112°W - 77°W (Ref. 86798)

Distribución Países | Áreas FAO | Ecosistemas | Ocurrencias, apariciones | Point map | Introducciones | Faunafri

North America: Mississippi River basin from southwestern New York to Montana and south to Louisiana; Gulf Slope drainagaes from Mobile Bay in Alabama, to Galveston Bay in Texas, USA. Formerly in Great Lakes basin, probably extirpated. At least one country reports adverse ecological impact after introduction.

Tamaño / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 221 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 86798); common length : 120 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 12193); peso máximo publicado: 90.7 kg (Ref. 3221); edad máxima reportada: 55 años (Ref. 46974)

Short description Claves de identificación | Morfología | Morfometría

Snout long, canoe-paddle-shaped; gill cover with large, fleshy, pointed flap (Ref. 86798).

Biología     Glosario (por ej. epibenthic)

Usually inhabits water deeper than 1.2 m in slow-flowing large rivers, lakes, and impoundments (Ref. 86798). Feeds on plankton. The extended upper jaw (= paddle) may help to channel plankton into the mouth. Threatened due to over harvesting, habitat loss and pollution (Ref. 58490).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproducción | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larva

Main reference Upload your references | Referencias | Coordinador | Colaboradores

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 2011. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 663p. (Ref. 86798)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Vulnerable, ver lista roja de la UICN (VU) (A2cd); Date assessed: 14 September 2019

CITES (Ref. 128078)


CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans





Human uses

Pesquerías: comercial; Acuario: Acuarios públicos
FAO(pesquerías: producción, species profile; publication : search) | FishSource |

Más información

Trophic ecology
componentes alimenticios
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Despredadores
Ecology
Ecología
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproducción
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larva
Dinámica larvaria
Anatomy
Gill areas
Cerebros
Otolitos
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Tipo de natación
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Sonidos de peces
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genética
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Perfiles de acuicultura
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Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
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References
Referencias

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.2500   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00646 (0.00430 - 0.00969), b=3.09 (2.98 - 3.20), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Nivel trófico (Ref. 69278):  3.1   ±0.0 se; based on diet studies.
Resiliencia (Ref. 120179):  Bajo, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo de 4.5-14 años (tm=6-9; tmax=30).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.