Article
Article
Sturgeon
Article By:
Curtin, Charles B. Department of Biology, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska.
Last reviewed:June 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.663200
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Any of the approximately 25 species of large fishes that comprise the family Acipenseridae in the order Acipenseriformes. Sturgeon fish are found in North Temperate Zone waters, where they are almost exclusively bottom-living and feed on organisms such as mollusks, worms, and larvae. The body has five rows of bony plates, of which one is situated dorsally, two laterally, and two ventrally. The snout is elongate, and there are four barbels on its lower surface; the mouth is ventrally located, and the jaws lack teeth in the adult. The skeleton is mainly cartilaginous. See also: Acipenseriformes; Osteichthyes
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