'' is the
type species of the genus Prior to 2025,
Acipenser contained almost all species in the
Acipenseridae outside of
Huso and the "shovelnose" sturgeons (
Scaphirhynchus and
Pseudoscaphirhynchus). However, such a placement is now known to be
paraphyletic with respect to the other genera, and these species have since been split into
Huso and
Sinosturio.
Acipenser in the strict sense (
sensu stricto) has been redefined with only 3 species. This is an ancient genus, with phylogenetic evidence suggesting that it is the most
basal sturgeon genus, having diverged from other sturgeons during the
Early Cretaceous period. Several fossil species known as far back as the
Late Cretaceous, with the fossils of two species (
A. praeparatorum and
A. amnisinferos) known from
mass mortality assemblages thought to immediately follow the
Chicxulub impact, the beginning of the
Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.''
However, the classification of these fossil species is uncertain under the new taxonomy; for example, "Acipenser
" praeparatorum
may actually represent a more derived sturgeon related to the Huso
-Pseudoscaphirhynchus
lineage. are thought to be
nomina dubia. • †
Acipenser albertensis Lambe, 1902 (
Late Cretaceous of Alberta, Canada) • †
Acipenser amnisinferos Hilton & Grande, 2023 (Late Cretaceous of North Dakota, USA) • †
Acipenser chilini Nessov, 1983 (
Early Paleocene of Kazakhstan) • ?†
Acipenser cretaceous Daimeries, 1892 (Late Cretaceous of Belgium; potentially a
teleost) • †
Acipenser eruciferus Cope, 1876 (Late Cretaceous of Montana, USA) • †
Acipenser gigantissimus Nessov, 1997 (Late Cretaceous of Saratov, Russia) • †
Acipenser lemoinei (Priem, 1901) (
Early Eocene of France) • ?†
Acipenser molassicus Probst, 1882 (
Miocene of Germany; potentially a
chondrichthyan) • †
Acipenser ornatus Leidy, 1873 (Miocene of Virginia, USA) • †
Acipenser parisiensis Priem, 1908 (
Early Oligocene of France) • †
Acipenser praeparatorum Hilton & Grande, 2023 (Late Cretaceous of North Dakota, USA) • †
Acipenser toliapicus Agassiz 1844
ex Woodward 1889 (Early Eocene of England) • ?†
Acipenser tuberculosus Probst 1882 (Miocene of Germany; potentially a chondrichthyan) • †
Acipenser zhylgensis Nessov, 1983 (Early Paleocene of Kazakhstan) ==References==