STURGEONS. 
1055 
and Kner", have a shorter snout, a weaker spine in 
the pectoral fins, smaller dorsal and lateral scutes, 
with longer hooks than in the males. Of the Sterlet 
(Ac. ruthenus), however, the same writers /j remark that 
the females have a longer, thinner, and more upturned 
snout and a flatter forehead. In the common Sturgeon 
(Ac. sturio ) we have found no perceptible external 
difference between the sexes, save that the ventral fins 
of the males are not removed so far back during 
growth as those of the females, the length of the pec- 
toral fins even in old (more than 1 m. long) males 
being at least J / 5 of the distance between the ventral 
fins and the tip of the snout. The males thus seem 
to represent the characters of the early stages of growth. 
Of the Hausen too Meckel and Kner' ; state that the 
females attain the greatest size. The materials within 
our reach as well as the recorded observations, how- 
ever, leave much to be desired in our knowledge of 
the external differences of sex. 
The form of the Sturgeons is also influenced by 
their environments. “Some forty years ago”, wrote 
Grimm'' in 1883, “the sterled penetrated through the 
canals into the North Dvina, and finding the condi- 
tions favourable to its existence (for ex. cold water, 
which is so necessary for it) it not only settled down 
and multiplied, but acquired some peculiarities in its 
exterior (a short, blunt snout and an arched back) 
and also a fine flavour, for which in Petersburg it is 
prized more than the Volga sterled. I must remark 
that even in the system of the Volga the sterled is 
much finer in the north (for instance in the river 
Sheksna) than in the southern parts, and the further 
south one goes, the less tasty the sterled becomes”. 
Among the Sturgeons, as among the Salmons, certain 
forms' are sometimes found landlocked in fresh water 
and unavoidably debarred from exchanging at regular 
intervals, in obedience to the natural instinct of the 
genus, fresh-water life for a marine existence. It is 
only to be expected that such forms should suffer 
alteration. 
The actual number of species within the genus 
it is thus impossible as yet to state ’with certainty. 
In Europe 7 or 8 species are supposed to occur, most 
of them belonging to Russia and the Danubian coun- 
tries. In Scandinavian waters only one species of the 
genus is found, the common Sturgeon of Western 
Europe. King Frederick I. of Sweden attempted to 
plant the Russian Sterlet in Edsviken (near Stockholm) 
off Ulriksdal, an experiment which at first seemed to 
promise success, but eventually proved a complete failure. 
The Sturgeons have been highly esteemed from 
time immemorial for their flesh, their roe, and the 
gelatine extracted from their air-bladder. Gregarious 
and at certain seasons extremely sluggish, they are 
an easy catch; and at other times, when they are more 
active, their great timidity drives them blindly into 
the fisherman’s snares. Some of them are among the 
colossi of the piscine world: the Hausen, for instance, 
is stated to have attained a weight of more than 1,500 
kilo., and specimens weighing 550 kilo, are still taken 
from time to time. A single fish of the latter weight 
commands at Astrachan a price of about £22 ■ . The 
Sturgeon-fishery is consequently of great importance 
and, especially in Russia, a productive source of food 
and income. According to DanilovskG the annual 
take of Sturgeons in European Russia may be approxi- 
mately valued at eight million roubles (£1,250,000). 
Of this sum about five millions are represented by 
the flesh, about two millions and a quarter by cavi- 
are, about 600,000 roubles by isinglass, and about 
100,000 roubles by vjeziga, the notochord (chorda 
dorsalis ), which is principally employed in the pre- 
paration of stock for soups and as an ingredient in pies''. 
Acipenser * 1 is classical Latin, and was introduced into 
ichthyology, as a generic name, by Artedi. In Pliny 
the Sturgeon is called Attilus J and Mario. 1 Among the 
"■ Susswasserf. Ostr. Mon., p. 345. 
6 l. c., p. 339. 
c 1. c., p. 569. 
d Fish., Hunt, in Russ. Wat., p. 24. 
e E. g. Acipenser rubicundus in America. 
f Grimm, 1. c., p. 32. 
g See Grimm, 1. c., p. 26. 
h For a description of the Sturgeon-fishery in Russia, see Brehm, 7 hierleben, Gr. Ausg., 1879, Abtli. Ill, Bd. 2, p. 358. 
1 Gesner supposed that the word had arisen by letter-changes from the Greek O^VQQVyygg. 
■’ Hist. Mundi , lib. IX, cap. XIII. 
k 1. c., lib. IV, cap. XV. 
Scandinavian Fishes. 
133 
