📸 PhotoPhoto: Muséum d'histoire Naturelle · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Chinese paddlefish
Psephurus gladius (Chinese paddlefish · ハシナガチョウザメ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum length of 3 m is about two-thirds (2/3) the length of a passenger car (about 4.5 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 300 kg equals 15 bags of 20 kg rice (Comparison).
- 💡 The IUCN Red List assessed this species as Extinct (EX) in 2022 (IUCN, iucn field in detail file).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The Chinese paddlefish was a giant fish that lived in the main stem of the Yangtze River, migrating between sea and river and spawning in the upper reaches. The IUCN Red List assessed this species as Extinct (EX) in 2022.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It was reported to grow to about 3 m in body length and up to 300 kg in body weight.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It spawned in March–April, with spawning sites in the upper Yangtze (Changjiang) and also reported in the lower Jinsha River. In the main river stem, it stayed mainly in the middle and lower layers of the water column.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List EX (2022) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18428/146104283
- • IUCN Red List category EX — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4NGTQ
- • iucnredlist.org — 146104283
- • wikidata.org — Q477223
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Psephurus gladius.jpg
- • fishbase.se — Psephurus-gladius.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Protopsephurus liui)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.