Sturgeons and Paddlefishes: Acipenseriformes

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists six species of sturgeons as Critically Endangered, or facing extremely high risk of extinction in the wild; eleven species as Endangered, or facing very high risk of extinction in the wild; and eight species as Vulnerable, or facing high risk of extinction in the wild. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the Alabama, pallid, short-nose, and white sturgeons as Endangered, meaning that they are in danger of extinction throughout all or most of their range, and the gulf sturgeon as Threatened, or likely to become endangered in the near future.