Wild kaluga sturgeon are now an endangered species.
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Radical 鱼 (yú 'fish') + phonetic 皇 (huáng 'emperor') - literally the 'emperor fish'. Fitting, since the kaluga can grow over 5 metres long and was historically prized as imperial tribute.
Fish radical on the left - pictograph of a fish with head, body and tail. Indexes 鳇 in the fish family with 鲤 carp, 鲨 shark, 鲸 whale. Marks the character as a specific species: the kaluga, a giant Amur sturgeon that can grow over five metres long.
Right side 皇 supplies the sound huáng directly with no shift. Same phonetic appears in 凰 phoenix, 惶 anxious, 煌 brilliant. The imperial flavour fits the kaluga's status as a tribute fish for Qing emperors - sometimes nicknamed the "emperor fish" of the Amur River.
