More than 20,000 artificially propagated acipenser sinensis, Chinese sturgeon, were born in an institution in central China's Hubei Province, experts said on Wednesday.

The institution announced successful breeding of the first sturgeon on Monday.

Acipenser sinensis, better known as Chinese sturgeon, one of the oldest living things on earth, has so far existed for more than 140 million years. The species had been listed as a wild creature under state top protection.

The research is significant as it marks the discovery of an effective way to protect Chinese sturgeon with no dependence on this wild species itself, which is small in number, said Shang Zhenyang, director of the institution.

The first batch of artificially propagated acipenser sinensis was born after 91 hours of incubation from more than 28,000 artificially bred eggs, he said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 7, 2009)