---
title: "What the sources say about the American Paddlefish | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "47 claims from the American Paddlefish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the American Paddlefish (*Polyodon spathula*)

> 47 claims from the American Paddlefish profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [American Paddlefish](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/american-paddlefish/)

## Moore & Rider (2022). Polyodon spathula. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022: e.T17938A81763841.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2022-1.rlts.t17938a81763841.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Vulnerable | Vulnerable (VU) (note: read as the assessment's category through GBIF's copy of the Red List, per docs/fact-check.md; the assessment's own text was not otherwise readable (iucnredlist.org refuses scripts)) |
| The IUCN lists the species as Vulnerable. | Vulnerable (VU) (note: read as the assessment's category through GBIF's copy of the Red List) |

## AnAge entry for Polyodon spathula. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Build 15, 2023.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Polyodon_spathula

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| weightKg: 50 | Adult weight 49,885 g (note: battleStats.weightKg, AnAge average adult weight rounded; ADW's 18 to 70 kg adult range is Medium class throughout) |

## Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

https://www.fws.gov/species/paddlefish-polyodon-spathula

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Large rivers and lakes of the Mississippi River basin | Mississippi River basin from southwestern New York to central Montana and south to Louisiana; Gulf Slope drainages from Mobile Bay, Alabama, to Galveston Bay, Texas. |
| can grow up to seven feet long | Paddlefish can grow up to 7 feet long. |
| weigh almost 200 pounds | Paddlefish can weigh almost 200 pounds. |
| a flattened snout, or rostrum, that reaches up to a third of its total body length | the presence of a large, paddle-shaped rostrum (up to 1/3 total body length) on the snout anterior to the mouth |
| It ranges across the Mississippi River basin, from southwestern New York to central Montana and south to Louisiana, plus Gulf Slope drainages from Mobile Bay, Alabama, to Galveston Bay, Texas. | Mississippi River basin from southwestern New York to central Montana and south to Louisiana; Gulf Slope drainages from Mobile Bay, Alabama, to Galveston Bay, Texas. |
| the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes reports of some specimens living 50 years or longer | Some reports say some specimens have lived for 50 years or longer. |

## Paddlefish. Missouri Department of Conservation, Field Guide.

https://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/paddlefish

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Tiny crustaceans and insects, collected from the water in closely set gill rakers | Paddlefish swim slowly through water with their mouths wide open, collecting tiny crustaceans and insects in their elaborate, closely set gill rakers. |
| The fish swims slowly with its mouth wide open, collecting tiny crustaceans and insects in closely set gill rakers | Paddlefish swim slowly through water with their mouths wide open, collecting tiny crustaceans and insects in their elaborate, closely set gill rakers. |
| The Last of an Ancient Line | The paddlefish is the only member of its family left on planet Earth. (note: heading) |
| Its family, the Polyodontidae, goes back to the Early Cretaceous, 120 to 125 million years ago. | The Polyodontidae family of fish goes back to the Early Cretaceous, 120 to 125 million years ago, about the same time that flowering plants (angiosperms) appeared on Earth. |
| The American paddlefish is the only member of its family left. | The paddlefish is the only member of its family left on planet Earth. |
| Missouri's conservation department says paddlefish can live to be 30 years old or more | Paddlefish can live to be 30 years old or more. |
| dams that stop them moving upstream to spawning grounds | Dams prevent paddlefish from being able to move upstream to their spawning territories, which prevents them from reproducing on their own. |
| in regions with large infestations of invasive zebra mussels those mussels filter out plankton that would otherwise feed paddlefish | In regions with large infestations of the invasive zebra mussel, those mussels filter significant amounts of plankton out of the water, plankton that would otherwise feed native paddlefish. |
| a fish that swims slowly with its mouth wide open | Paddlefish swim slowly through water with their mouths wide open, collecting tiny crustaceans and insects in their elaborate, closely set gill rakers. (note: vibe.reason) |

## Polyodon spathula (American paddlefish). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Polyodon_spathula/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Paddlefish generally live in large rivers with deep, slow-moving, muddy water | They generally reside in large rivers with deep water (greater than 6 meters) and slow moving currents (less than 5 cm/s) (Zigler, 2003; Southall, 1984). Turbid (muddy) water is preferred by P. spathula . (note: habitat description from an old ADW page, which docs/fact-check.md allows for size, range and diet/habitat; not a record, count or duration) |
| Swarms of Daphnia, the tiny water fleas paddlefish eat | Examples of animals in the P. spathula diet are copepods, cladocerans such Daphnia pulex , and ephemeropteran nymphs (Hoxmeier, 1997). |

## Paddlefish. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Field Guide.

https://www.wildlifedepartment.com/wildlife/field-guide/fish/paddlefish

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Large rivers and lakes of the Mississippi River basin, most often in deep, low-current side channels, backwater lakes and tailwaters below dams | American paddlefish are well adapted to living in rivers and lakes. They inhabit many types of habitats and occur most frequently in deeper, low current areas such as side channels, backwater lakes and tailwaters below dams. |
| the toothbrush-like bristles in its gills | Paddlefish have wide gaping mouths and toothbrush-like bristles in their gills. |
| Paddlefish were once very abundant and have declined in numbers. Threats include | Paddlefish were once very abundant throughout their range, but have declined in numbers. Threats to paddlefish include |
| illegal harvest of adults for caviar | Illegal harvest of adult paddlefish for caviar |

## Russell, Wilkens & Moss (1999). Use of behavioural stochastic resonance by paddle fish for feeding. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/46279

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Hunting by Electric Signal | paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), which use passive electroreceptors to detect electrical signals from planktonic prey (note: heading: the fish senses electric signals, it does not emit any) |
| they feed with passive electroreceptors on the paddle: the organs detect the electrical signals given off by planktonic prey instead of producing a current of their own. | stochastic resonance enhances the normal feeding behaviour of paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), which use passive electroreceptors to detect electrical signals from planktonic prey (note: "instead of producing a current of their own" glosses "passive" for the reader) |
| Static widens the search | We demonstrate significant broadening of the spatial range for the detection of plankton when a noisy electric field of optimal amplitude is applied in the water. (note: blockquote lead) |
| are a natural source of electrical noise, and adding a noise field of the right strength to the water broadens the range over which paddlefish detect plankton. | We demonstrate significant broadening of the spatial range for the detection of plankton when a noisy electric field of optimal amplitude is applied in the water. We also show that swarms of Daphnia plankton are a natural source of electrical noise. (note: "of the right strength" keeps the source's "of optimal amplitude") |
| which are passive electroreceptors: they pick up the electrical signals given off by planktonic prey instead of producing a current of their own. | paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), which use passive electroreceptors to detect electrical signals from planktonic prey (note: faq 1) |

## Modrell et al. (2011). Electrosensory ampullary organs are derived from lateral line placodes in bony fishes. Nature Communications.

https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1502

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| An ancient river giant that carries 50,000 to 70,000 electroreceptor organs, the largest number of any living vertebrate species. | The North American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, is a basal actinopterygian fish with easily the largest number of ampullary organs of any living vertebrate species: 50,000–70,000 ampullae per adult. |
| 50,000 to 70,000 electroreceptors per adult, the largest number of any living vertebrate species | easily the largest number of ampullary organs of any living vertebrate species: 50,000–70,000 ampullae per adult (note: stats.superpower, same figure as the tagline) |
| Paddle and head covered in ampullary organs | Ampullary organs are confined to the head, and most numerous on the rostrum and opercular flap. (note: the count is per adult, not per rostrum: the organs sit on the head, the rostrum (paddle) carrying most of them) |
| A Paddle Built Like an Antenna | The characteristic rostrum, or paddle (an extension of the cranium), is covered in ampullary organs and is used as an electrosensory 'antenna' for feeding (note: heading: the source's own word for the rostrum) |
| The paddle is used as an electrosensory antenna, covered in ampullary organs | The characteristic rostrum, or paddle (an extension of the cranium), is covered in ampullary organs and is used as an electrosensory 'antenna' for feeding |
| the sense organs that pick up weak electric fields in the water | The mechanosensory and electrosensory divisions of the lateral line system enable fishes and amphibians to detect changes in local water flow and weak electric fields, respectively ... Electrosensory hair cells are collected in ampullary organs (note: definition of ampullary organs at first use) |
| An adult carries between 50,000 and 70,000 of them, the largest number of any living vertebrate species. | easily the largest number of ampullary organs of any living vertebrate species: 50,000–70,000 ampullae per adult |
| They are confined to the head, and most numerous on the paddle and the flap that covers the gills. | Ampullary organs are confined to the head, and most numerous on the rostrum and opercular flap. (note: "paddle" and "the flap that covers the gills" for the source's "rostrum" and "opercular flap") |
| It works as an electrosensory antenna. The paddle is covered in ampullary organs | The characteristic rostrum, or paddle (an extension of the cranium), is covered in ampullary organs and is used as an electrosensory 'antenna' for feeding (note: faq 1) |
| Between 50,000 and 70,000 ampullary organs per adult, the largest number of any living vertebrate species. | easily the largest number of ampullary organs of any living vertebrate species: 50,000–70,000 ampullae per adult (note: faq 2) |
| They are confined to the head, and most numerous on the paddle and the flap that covers the gills. | Ampullary organs are confined to the head, and most numerous on the rostrum and opercular flap. (note: faq 2, same sentence as the body) |
| its paddle works as an electrosensory antenna for finding plankton | The paddlefish rostrum functions as an electrosensory antenna in plankton feeding. (note: vibe.reason; the paddle is the rostrum) |

## Smith et al. (2015). Making teeth to order: conserved genes reveal an ancient molecular pattern in paddlefish (Actinopterygii). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2700

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Teeth are present and working in young paddlefish, and completely absent in adults, which filter-feed instead. | Although teeth are present and functional in young individuals of Polyodon, they are completely absent in adults ... initial conservation, followed by tooth loss, accommodating the adult trophic modification to filter-feeding |
| Teeth are present and working in young paddlefish, and completely absent in adults. Adults filter-feed instead, straining tiny animals out of the water. | Although teeth are present and functional in young individuals of Polyodon, they are completely absent in adults ... initial conservation, followed by tooth loss, accommodating the adult trophic modification to filter-feeding (note: faq 3) |

## Zhang et al. (2020). Extinction of one of the world's largest freshwater fishes: Lessons for conserving the endangered Yangtze fauna. Science of The Total Environment.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136242

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The family was down to two living members. The other was the Chinese paddlefish of the Yangtze River, one of the largest freshwater fish species at up to seven meters long. | was one of only two extant members of a relict lineage that was most diverse and widespread 34-75 million years ago. It is also one of the largest freshwater fish species, reaching up to 7 m in length. The Chinese paddlefish was once common in the Yangtze River |
| A basin-wide capture survey in 2017 and 2018 found 332 fish species but not a single Chinese paddlefish, and researchers estimate it was extinct by 2005, and no later than 2010. | a basin-wide capture survey during 2017-2018 found 332 fish species, but did not find a single specimen of Chinese paddlefish ... we estimated the timing of extinction to be by 2005, and no later than by 2010 |
| The Chinese paddlefish of the Yangtze River was one of the largest freshwater fish species, reaching up to seven meters long. | It is also one of the largest freshwater fish species, reaching up to 7 m in length. The Chinese paddlefish was once common in the Yangtze River (note: faq 4) |
| A basin-wide capture survey in 2017 and 2018 found 332 fish species but not a single Chinese paddlefish, and researchers estimate it was extinct by 2005, and no later than 2010. | a basin-wide capture survey during 2017-2018 found 332 fish species, but did not find a single specimen of Chinese paddlefish ... we estimated the timing of extinction to be by 2005, and no later than by 2010 (note: faq 4, same sentence as the body) |