157 



M 

 (I 

 (( 



COMMON sturgeo:n. 



Sturio, JoNSTON; pi, 23, figs. 8, 9, 10. 



" ar'venser, sihirus, 



the Sturgeon, Willoughby; p. 929, tab. p. 7. The name 



of Silurus had been applied to this fish 

 by previous authors, who from ignorance 

 had confounded it with the Sheat-fish, 

 Silurus ghtnis. 



Acipenser sturio, Linn^us and Cuvier. Bloch, pi. 83. 



" " Donovan, pi. 65. Fleming; Br. An., p. 173. 



Gkay; Cat. Br. Museum, p. 13. 

 Jenyns; Manual, p. 493. 

 Yarrell; Br. Fishes, vol. ii, p. 475 and 479; 

 Second Supplement. 

 Aclpensere Esturgeon, Lacepede and Risso. 



The Common Sturgeon is the only one of this family which 

 wanders widely from the jji'incipal haunts of its race. It is 

 even found in the colder parts of the northern ocean, and not 

 a season passes in which several are not taken on the coasts of 

 Europe and the British Islands; where they often exercise 

 their instinctive quality of pushing their way through the 

 course of the deeper rivers. It is the opinion of naturalists 

 chat, as in the case of the Salmon, this reciprocal change from 

 salt-water to fi-esh is important to the health of the fish; and 

 that it is not adopted for the purpose alone of depositing 

 spawn appears from the fact that no instance has been detected 

 of the shedding of roe in British rivers, ^..=-'e, from their 

 multitudes, they could scarcely have escaped discovery. A few 

 examples have occurred where a fish has bern obtained 

 among us of small size; and an example in the possession of 

 Mr. Yarrell measured only a foot in length. But I believe 

 no record exists of the place whence this specimen was ob- 

 tained, and it is not certain that the roe when shed is injured 

 by being placed in salt-water. 



