"Living Fossils", Sturgeons are Actually Evolving Very Quickly, Researchers Say

[n2doc]

Sturgeons or the "living fossils" are actually the fastest-evolving fish on earth, a new study has found.

The prehistoric-looking fish has received a lot of attention in the past few years due to efforts to restore its population in the Great Lakes.

"Sturgeon are thought of as a living fossil group that has undergone relatively slow rates of anatomical change over time. But that's simply not true," said Daniel Rabosky, assistant professor in the University of Michigan Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Sturgeons have been on earth for about 100 million years and today have about 29 species.

Researchers found that the fish have evolved more rapidly, increasing body size over time.

"Our study shows that sturgeon are evolving very quickly in some ways. They have evolved a huge range of body sizes. There are dwarf sturgeon the size of a bass and several other species that are nearly as big as a Volkswagen," added Rabosky, according to a news release.

more
http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/2303/20130607/living-fossils-sturgeons-evolving-very-quickly-researchers.htm

[Vinnie From Indy]

1. Tell me about it!

A sturgeon came up to me yesterday and bummed a smoke.

[azurnoir]

2. Thanks for posting

I've seen a sturgeon up close when I was a kid, it was caught in one of the Great Lakes and was around 6-8 feet long

[longship]

3. In other words, not a keeper. ;-) nt

[azurnoir]

4. seemed like it was

when I saw it the fish was hanging upside down from it's tail to snout, I was little it was big and prehistoric looking that had to be around 1960 though

[Scuba]

6. Take a look below your post.

[Scuba]

5. Here's a medium-sized sturgeon, caught through the ice on Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin ...

The season is carefully regulated. Harvested fish must be immediately reported; when the limit on large (breeding) females is reached, the season is immediately ended.

[azurnoir]

7. wow maybe I'm underestimating the one I saw almost certainly came out of

the south east part of Lake Michigan, that's impressive though

[Vinnie From Indy]

8. Oofta! I bet that took a few Leinenkugel's to land

Cheers!

[Scuba]

9. "Leinie's - A Headache In Every Bottle"

My 92 year old neighbor speared a 40 pounder and got it in last year. His girlfriend (78) got a 113 pound whopper!

How the two of them landed it is beyond me.