Fishes of Massachusetts. 525 
CHONDROPTERYGII. 
ORDER I. 
CHONDROPTERYGII BRANCHIIS 
LIBERIS. 
———— 
T 
FAMILY. 
STURIONIDZ. 
ACIPENSER. Lin. 
Generic characters. Body elongated and angu- 
lar, defended by indurated plates and spines, ar- 
ranged in longitudinal rows ; snout pointed, conical ; 
mouth, placed on the under surface of the head, 
tubular, and without teeth. 
A.  ozyrinchus. Mitchell. The Sharp-nosed 
Sturgeon. 
m 
"Trans. Lit. et Philosoph. Soc. N. Y. vol. i. p. 462. 
Trans. of Amer. Philos. Soc. new series, vol. i. p. 394. 
In May 1838, I received of Mr. Freeman, fish- 
monger in Quincy market, a specimen of a stur- 
geon, which I suppose to be the “ oryrinchus,” 
_ Mitchell; afterwards more minutely deseribed by 
Le Sueur. This fish was taken in Charles river at 
Watertown, and measured 2 feet and 3 inches in 
