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‘Living fossil’ fish washed up on US shores

An American naturalist has found the remains of a fish that has existed since the time of the dinosaurs (also known as the Atlantic sturgeon) on the east coast of the country.

The nearly 1-meter-long creature was discovered by Allen Sklar on Assateague Island, a 60-kilometer stretch of land that runs along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia east of the Delmarva peninsula facing the Atlantic Ocean, Newsweek reported on February 1.

As a naturalist specializing in the wildlife and ecology of Assateague, Sklar said the rare specimen was an Atlantic sturgeon scientifically known as Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus.

Carcass of Atlantic sturgeon washed ashore on Assateague Island. Photo: Allen Sklar

“I usually drive 20 kilometers along the coast about 100 days a year, so I’ve seen a lot of things that other people don’t. This is the second Atlantic sturgeon carcass I’ve come across on the island in the past 27 years. “, Sklar shared.

The Atlantic sturgeon mainly lives in estuaries and coastal waters from Canada to Florida. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Service, they can grow to a length of 4.5 m and weigh more than 360 kg as an adult, but are normally only 1.8 – 2.4 m long and weigh about approx. 140 kg.



This large, armored fish appeared on Earth more than 120 million years ago, when dinosaurs were still roaming the Earth, so it is also known as “living fossil”. In the wild, they usually live up to 60 years.

Atlantic sturgeon is likened to a living fossil because it has existed since the time of the dinosaurs. Photo: Allen Sklar

Atlantic sturgeon was much more abundant than it is today, but overfishing in the 19th and 20th centuries, coupled with degraded habitat, led to a severe decline in numbers. Four of the five distinct populations of Atlantic sturgeon in the US are currently listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Atlantic sturgeon was once found throughout the Chesapeake Bay west of Assateague Island and its freshwater rivers, but is now rare in the area.