• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.15-23
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• 2013

Normal embryonic development at a constant temperature ($18^{\circ}C$) has been described for the Siberian sturgeon Acipenser baerii (Acipenseriformes). Hormone-induced spawning and artificial insemination were performed to prepare embryonic batches for embryologic examination. After insemination, early cleavages of the Siberian sturgeon embryos continued for 7 h post-fertilization (HPF), showing the typical pattern of uneven holoblastic cleavage. Blastulation and gastrulation began at 9 HPF and 19 HPF, respectively. Epiboly formation (2/3 covered) was observed at 25 HPF during gastrulation. Neurulation was initiated with the formation of a slit-like neural groove from the blastopore at 33 HPF. During neurulation, the primary embryonic kidney (pronephros) and s-shaped heart developed. The embryos underwent progressive differentiation, which is typical of Acipenseriform species. A mass hatching was observed at 130 HPF, and the average total length of the hatched prolarvae was 10.5 mm. The hatched prolarvae possessed a typical pigment plug (yolk plug). The results of this study are valuable not only as a reference guide for the artificial propagation of Siberian sturgeon in hatcheries but also as the basis for the derivation of developmental gene expression assays for this species.