#sturddlefish

[acarinarium]

Do you ever just think about sturddlefish? I do

[all-0f-the-above]

sturddlefish weren't supposed to exist. they were supposed to be infertile eggs but instead they hatched?? the last common ancestor between surgeon and paddlefish was 180 million years ago- that's like trying to cross a modern human with a platypus (common ancestor ~170 million years ago). it shouldn't have worked

and because the sturddlefish weren't really genetically all there (many of the eggs didn't make it very far into the development) the ones that hatched looked very different from one another

source: wikimedia

specifically, it was a cross between the Russian Sturgeon and the American Paddlefish. if you're thinking "they're both fish though" I need you to remember that "fish" is a SHAPE. just like "tree" and "crab" and "ferret" are shapes. except things have been living in the water much, much longer than they've been living on land, so "fish" have had even longer to evolve away from each other. the last time their common ancestor existed, humans and platypi hadn't even branched off from each other

[world-of-advice]

[sturgeonposting]

Thoughts on sturddlefish?

The sturddlefish is a weird little man to me. He’s almost a sturgeon but not quite. If people are interested in him I can write a post about him. I do think it’s a cool and unique effort to rejuvenate both species, and I think it’s funny how sometimes they come out as just… slightly weird sturgeon.

[thatnostalgiccarp]

Critter fact #54:

The American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) and the Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) can hybridize. These hybrids, discovered accidentally, are called sturddlefish. In the below photo, the Russian sturgeon is a, the American paddlefish is d, and the hybrids are b and c.

[guardian-teaspoon]

fish blog fish blog fish blog

[kingtheannoying]

I have a new favorite fish.

[zakker99]

Thinking about that time they accidentally made a new fish (true story)

[bethanythebogwitch]

Gather round, children, and let me tell you the tale of the sturddlefish. In the year 2019 in the mythical land of Hungary’s Research Institute for Fisheries and Aquaculture, some scientists were trying to save some endangered fish. The Russian sturgeon and American paddlefish are distantly related species that are both endangered. The scientists were trying to induce gynogenesis in the sturgeon. 

This is a type of parthenogenesis (single parent reproduction) where sperm triggers the embryo growth, but doesn’t contribute genetic material. In any type of parthenogenesis, the offspring is basically a clone of the mother. 

The scientists needed to have sperm interact with the eggs without inseminating them. So they used paddlefish sperm. Since paddlefish diverged from sturgeons 184 million years ago, the scientists figured that there was no chance of insemination. 

Much to their surprise, the paddlefish sperm did fertilize the sturgeon eggs, creating the hybrid sturddlefish. This was not expected at all due to his distantly related the parent species are. There were two sturddlefish populations from the same breeding. One that was 50% sturgeon and paddlefish and one that had twice as much sturgeon due to chromosome doubling. Only about 2/3 of the sturddlefish survived longer than a month and only about 100 survived past a year. Hybrids often have health problems that limit their lifespans. Given how long-lived the parent species are, a healthy sturddlefish could live for a long time. 

The sturddlefish will live out their lives in the research institute and the scientists have no plans of making more. I don’t know if any of them are still alive. For a brief time, a new lifeform will have come into existence by sheer accident and will soon be extinct. May they Rest In Peace 

Image from a to d: Russian sturgeon, mostly sturgeon hybrid, even hybrid, American paddlefish

[antonio0gamer]

Tried to make a sturddlefish

[palaeoplushies]

American Paddlefish!! New plush! I'll try and keep them away from my sturgeons but... honestly a Sturddlefish might be a cool plush to make!

You can find 'em for sale over here; https://www.palaeoplushies.com/shop/paddlefish

[netzach-the-unholy]

GUYS

GUYS

NEW FISH JUST DROPPED

ITS CALLED THE STURDDLEFISH

ITS A HYBRID OF THE AMERICAN PADDLEFISH AND RUSSIAN STURGEON

SCIENTISTS MADE IT AFTER TRYNA DO SOME GYNOGENESIS SHIT

AND THEY USED THE PADDLEFISH CUM ON THE STURGEON EGGS ON ACCIDENT

AND THE SHIT WORKED

I HAVE NOT BEEN HAPPIER IN MY LIFE

[catboybiologist]

"Catboy is a gender neutral term" just reminded me that I once came up with a theory that "catboys" and "catgirls" - at least as they were commonly classified for a brief period - are separate, effectively unrelated species, that have often been mistaken for different morphs of the same species.

This was when basically every trans guy I knew was consumed by FFXIV and it was getting really common for catboys to have more of the look of the Miqo'te, with bigger, more swept back ears, more off to the sides of the head, than the more straight upward ears (that are easy to replicate on a headband) associated with "classic" catgirls.

This, of course, means there are catgirl catboys and catboy catgirls and nyanbinary catboys and catgirls alike.

Of course, learning about the sturddlefish only made this prospect even more exciting to me because that meant it's not impossible for there to be little catboy-catgirl hybrid catboys and catgirls and more running around. Sure enough, I think I've seen a few right here on tumblr!

I hope you, the catboy biologist, find this concept to be just as fascinating as I do.

Combined with the incredible husbandry and factsheet that @trans4hire has put together, this is information that the general public should know about the field. Catboys and catgirls are related, but distinct species.

Also. God damn y'all. I need to have a proper response to @trans4hire, but the thing she put in my ask box as a follow up to the last ask... It's a thing of beauty.

[t00thpasteface]

shebbz have you heard about the sturddlefish

YES. love wins 💕

[isostatic-uplift]

Do I remember right that a Kazilik/Celestial cross wasn’t expected to be viable?

…is Ning the sturddlefish of dragons??

[farcillesbian]

ok here are my fishwives :3 inspired by the post about the sturddlefish going around recently (accidental hybridization of Russian sturgeon and American paddlefish by scientists)

[id: art done with pencil and pencil crayons showing two anthropomorphic fish standing with each other. the fish on the left is a light blue sturgeon with teal whiskers and cornflower blue scutes (the bumps on his back). hes wearing a coral bikini top and a pink skirt and has a joint sticking out of his mouth. he's blushing while putting his hand on the other fish's arm. the fish on the right is a blue-grey paddlefish with grey spots and a gold "ear" piercing. she's wearing a purple knit beanie, and has a bright green fabric slung around her neck with an arrow pointing to it saying "Her shirt (got too hot)". she's also wearing red shorts and holding a blue can. /end id]

left is Elmira, a Russian sturgeon, he/him lesbian. he's a professional chef with a specialty in seafood (runs his own seafood restaurant!)

right is Kepler (aka Kep), American paddlefish, she/her butch dyke. she's a lifelong fisher and she and her buddies provide most of the seafood for Elmira's restaurant. this is actually how they met :)

they're at a dock party in this (Elmira is the weed smoking wife while Kep is more of a beer lady)