Chinese Paddlefish

Also known as Chinese Swordfish, Yangtze Paddlefish, Elephant Fish

Chinese paddlefish patrolled the deep, turbid mainstems of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, using an elongated, sword-shaped rostrum packed with sensory receptors to detect the electrical signals of prey. Unlike their plankton-filtering American relatives, these massive river giants were swift carnivores that hunted smaller fish and crustaceans in open waters. Juveniles migrated into coastal estuaries to feed before returning upriver as adults, a lifecycle that was fatally disrupted when major hydroelectric dams blocked their traditional spawning routes.