Diversity and evolution of sturgeons and paddlefishes.- An overview of Acipenseriformes.- Osteology and phylogenetic interrelationships of sturgeons (Acipenseridae).- Phylogeny of the Acipenseriformes: Cytogenetic and molecular approaches.- How many species are there within the genus Acipenser?.- Prelude to sturgeon biodiversity and conservation.- Biology and status reports on sturgeons and paddlefishes.- Sturgeon rivers: An introduction to acipenseriform biogeography and life history.- Past and current status of sturgeons in the upper and middle Danube River.- Endangered migratory sturgeons of the lower Danube River and its delta.- Present status of commercial stocks of sturgeons in the Caspian Sea basin.- Species structure, contemporary distribution and status of the Siberian sturgeon, Acipenser baerii.- Endemic sturgeons of the Amur River: Kaluga, Huso dauricus, and Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii.- Biology, fisheries, and conservation of sturgeons and paddlefish in China.- Biology and life history of Dabry’s sturgeon, Acipenser dabryanus, in the Yangtze River.- Observations on the reproductive cycle of cultured white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus.- Contemporary status of the North American paddlefish, Polyodon spathula.- Life history and status of the shovelnose sturgeon, Scaphirhynchus platorynchus.- The status and distribution of lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec: A genetic perspective.- Lake sturgeon management in the Menominee River, a Wisconsin-Michigan boundary water.- Life history, latitudinal patterns, and status of the shortnose sturgeon Acipenser brevirostrum.- Status and management of Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus, in North America.- Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons of theHudson River: Common and divergent life history attributes.- Biological characteristics of European Atlantic sturgeon, Acipenser sturio, as the basis for a restoration program in France.- Sturgeon biodiversity and conservation: An introduction.- Controversies, conservation and summary.- Sturgeons and the Aral Sea ecological catastrophe.- Threatened fishes of the world: Pseudoscaphirhynchus spp. (Acipenseridae).- Molecular analysis in the conservation of sturgeons and paddlefish.- Sensitivity of North American sturgeons and paddlefish to fishing mortality.- Alternatives for the protection and restoration of sturgeons and their habitat.- Threatened fishes of the world: Scaphirynchus suttkusi Williams & Clemmer,1991 (Acipenseridae).- Threatened fishes of the world: Scaphirhynchus albus (Forbes & Richardson,1905) (Acipenseridae).- Sturgeon poaching and black market caviar: A case study.- The threatened status of acipenseriform species: A summary.- Leo Semenovich Berg and the biology of Acipenseriformes: A dedication.