180 UNDERWATER GUIDE TO MARINE LIFE 



Their food is detected with the barbels on the snout and is strained from mud 

 and soft bottoms with the protractile mouth. The name "sturgeon" is derived 

 from a German word meaning "to rummage around." Sturgeons are found in 

 the seas and large rivers of Eurasia and North America. Like salmon, they spend 

 most of their lives in the sea, entering fresh water to breed. The flesh and roe 

 (caviar) are prized as food. 



STURGEONS: Family Acipenseridae 



SEA STURGEON (coMMON sturgeon) : Acipetiser sturio 



Size: Rarely over 8 feet. Recorded up to 18 feet. 



Weight: Recorded up to over a ton. 



Distribution: From the St. Lawrence River to the Carolinas. Most common 

 about the Chesapeake Bay. Also found in European waters. 



Identification: Separated from other smaller sturgeons by the shape and 

 number of dorsal plates (scales). 



Habits: Because of the value of this large fish and the pollution of so many 

 of our large rivers, it is much reduced in numbers. In spite of its clumsy build 

 and sluggishness, a sturgeon is capable of bursts of speed. The lateral scutes 

 on the tail are used as weapons and can cause serious cuts. Sturgeons are known 

 to leap from the water upon occasion, a peculiar show of energy for so sluggish 

 an animal. In May, the adults ascend rivers to spawn, as many as two or three 

 million eggs being produced by a single female. Isinglass used to be made 

 from the swim bladders of sturgeons. 



Similar Species: The white sturgeon, Acifenser transmontaniis, is a West 

 Coast species found from Alaska to Monterey Bay. It enters large rivers, such 

 as the Sacramento, Columbia, and Eraser, to breed. It is comparable in size and 

 habits to the Atlantic species. Formerly thought to be worthless, demands for its 

 flesh have made it rare and it is strictly protected by law. 



^. 



Fig. 84. Sea sturgeon. 



THE MODERN BONY FISHES: Subclass Teleostel {"true hone") 



The vast and imposing array of modern bony fishes can be best considered 

 as falling into five orders as follows: 



1. Isospondyli, primitive forms with the ventral fins on the belly and no 

 spines in the fins (herrings, trapons, salmon, etc.). 



2. Apodes, the eels. 



3. Ostariophysi, primarily fresh-water fishes, of which only the catfishes 

 will concern us. 



4. Mesichthys, or "middle fishes," a collection of se\'eral groups thought to 



