Chinese Paddlefish

The Chinese paddlefish was a large freshwater predator, appropriately named for the paddle-shaped snout extending from the face. Large numbers of these fish once roamed the mighty Yangtze River of China. But after years of rapid decline, the Chinese paddlefish is believed to be extinct, a victim of human activity.

3 Incredible Chinese Paddlefish Facts!

• The first paddlefish evolved about 200 million years ago. The modern paddlefish retains some “ancient” characteristics, including a highly cartilage-based skeleton and a large snout.
• In some places, this species is called the elephant fish because the paddle resembles an elephant’s snout. It also earned the name of the “Giant Panda of the Rivers” because of its rarity.
• The Chinese paddlefish was a solitary hunter that fed alone, except in the breeding season, when large numbers of these fish congregated together.

Chinese Paddlefish Classification and Scientific Name

The scientific name of the Chinese paddlefish is Psephurus gladius. Gladius is the name of a Roman short sword, which resembles the fish’s nose. The paddlefish was the only living member of its genus and the only other member of its family besides the American paddlefish. More distantly, it occupies the same order as the sturgeon, which is another big predatory fish with a large snout.

Chinese Paddlefish Appearance

There are many facts about the Chinese paddlefish that make it unique. It was one of the largest species of freshwater fish in the world. It measured up to 23 feet (though more commonly about 10 feet) and weighed up to 992 pounds. The paddle nose alone, which is the distinguishing feature of this fish, took up a full third of the body length. It had a silver-grey back, fading to a white underbelly, with pink or red-colored fins. White ridges also extended along the side of the body. The smooth skin mostly lacked scales except near the fins.

Chinese Paddlefish Distribution, Population, and Habitat

The Chinese paddlefish was once endemic to the entire Yangtze River and its tributaries and connected lakes, including the Yellow River. Running between the mountains of Western China and the East China Sea near Shanghai, the Yangtze is the third largest river in the world and contains an enormous amount of aquatic diversity. An adult paddlefish will also sometimes spend part of its life in the brackish (salty) estuaries and coastal waters of the East China Sea.

According to the IUCN Red List, the Chinese paddlefish is an extinct species. The last confirmed sighting occurred in 2003 when an adult specimen was accidentally caught, tagged, and released back into the water. However, the signal from the tag was lost within hours, and a proven sighting has not occurred since then.

This species was a victim of overfishing and dam construction. National Geographic reported that 25 tons of paddlefish were harvested every year in the 1980s, which placed enormous strains on the populations. The construction of the Gezhouba Dam, located about a thousand miles from the sea, and later the Three Gorges Dam, split the remaining population and prevented it from migrating upriver. This had the effect of driving down numbers to the point of near extinction.

Chinese Paddlefish Predators and Prey

The Chinese paddlefish was a top predator, dwarfing almost every other freshwater fish in the water. It was a strong swimmer with powerful jaws for feeding on prey.

What does the Chinese paddlefish eat?

Unlike its plankton-eating American relative, the Chinese paddlefish primarily fed on small to medium aquatic animals, including anchovies, shrimp, crab, and more. Because the American paddlefish also has electrical receptors on its snout for detecting prey, it is assumed, though not known for a fact, that the Chinese paddlefish had something similar.

What eats the Chinese paddlefish?

Due to its enormous size, the adult paddlefish had no other predators in its natural habitat. Humans were the only species that could kill an adult. However, the vulnerable eggs and juvenile fish were likely preyed upon in significant numbers by fish.

Chinese Paddlefish Reproduction and Lifespan

The Chinese paddlefish had a spawning season that traditionally lasted between March and April. Like many freshwater fish, it migrated every year to its upriver spawning grounds, which also made it vulnerable to dam construction and fishing. Once they arrived, the males and females released their sperm and eggs into the water, which mixed and fertilized together.

The young fish hatched a few days later, small and undeveloped, and were left to fend for themselves. After a short period of growth and feeding, the paddlefish moved back downriver toward the sea to begin a new life. It takes around seven or eight years for this fish to reach full maturity. But because of its rapid decline, scientists could not study its reproductive strategies in great detail and learn any definitive facts about them. The fish’s long maturation period and lifespan interfered with the recovery once numbers began to decline rapidly.

Chinese Paddlefish in Fishing and Cooking

The Chinese paddlefish were heavily hunted in the 1970s and 1980s. Its predictable spawning behavior made the Chinese paddlefish relatively easy to catch in large nets as they swam along the river in schools toward the breeding grounds. The flesh was not the only desirable part of this fish, however. The roe (or eggs) were also considered to be a delicacy. It was made into caviar and sold at a high price.