Army Corps touts discovery of offspring of endangered pallid sturgeon in lower Missouri River

The Army Corps of Engineers is trumpeting the discovery of two tiny pallid sturgeons in the Missouri River near St. Louis as fresh proof the endangered species that traces its origins to the dinosaur era is reproducing.

The Corps announced Tuesday that the larval pallid sturgeons were found during Missouri Department of Conservation sampling efforts last June. Genetic testing in Illinois confirmed the fish were offspring of the endangered species.

Joe Bonneau is a South Dakota-based threatened and endangered species section chief with the Corps. He says that while pallid sturgeon are native to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, this marks the first time genetically-confirmed offspring of the fish have been found in the lower Missouri. He says it demonstrates that at least some reproduction is happening in the wild.