Chinese Paddlefish Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Long, narrow, sword- or blade-like rostrum, more slender and pointed than the American paddlefish's flat paddle
• Slight upward curve at the tip of the snout
• Smooth, scaleless skin like other paddlefish
• Deeply forked heterocercal tail
• Predatory diet of fish and crustaceans, reflected in a larger, more toothed mouth than filter-feeding paddlefish
• Historically reported to reach exceptional lengths, among the largest freshwater fish ever recorded

Common look-alikes

• American paddlefish: has a broader, flatter, blunt paddle-shaped snout and feeds by filtering plankton, whereas the Chinese Paddlefish's snout was narrower and blade-like, suited to active hunting.
• Chinese sturgeon: shares the same river system but carries five rows of bony scutes and a much shorter conical snout, unlike the Chinese Paddlefish's smooth skin and elongated blade snout.
• Swordfish (in imagery only): swordfish have a rigid, rounded bill and live in open ocean, never freshwater rivers, distinguishing it from any paddlefish.

Where you'll see one

The Chinese Paddlefish was historically found in the Yangtze River and its associated lakes and estuary in China. The species was formally declared extinct in recent assessments after no confirmed sightings since the early 2000s, so it is now known only from museum specimens, photographs, and historical records.