76 
bulletin of the bureau of fisheries 
more, Philadelphia, or New York. The caviar, which is usually prepared by the fisherman him- 
self, is shipped to New York exclusively. 
The rapid decline in the abundance of the sturgeon has caused the enactment of laws for its 
protection. The Virginia law states that no sturgeon less than 4 feet long may be removed from 
the waters of the State. The Maryland law states that no sturgeon weighing less than 20 pounds 
may be caught or offered for sale, and that no sturgeons whatsoever might be taken during the 
10-year period from 1914 to 1923. 
When a survey of the fishery industries of the United States was made in 1880 it was found 
that the Atlantic coast sturgeon industry was of relatively large importance. The industry centered 
at Delaware Bay and Savannah, Ga. Schooners sailed from Delaware during January and com- 
menced operations early in February on St. Mary’s River, Ga. 
This sturgeon attains a large size, a maximum length of 18 feet having been recorded from 
Europe and, many years ago, from New England. At the present day the maximum for American 
fish is more nearly 12 feet, with fish 7 to 9 feet long not at all uncommon. The males average con- 
siderably smaller than the females, rarely exceeding a length of 7 feet. 
Habitat. — On the Atlantic coast of America from the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf of Mexico. 
Also, once recorded from Hudson Bay, on the northwestern coast of Europe, if the American and 
European sturgeons are considered identical. 
Chesapeake localities. — (a) Previous records: Chesapeake Bay and virtually all tributary 
streams. ( b ) Specimens in collection: None. The species, however, was observed at Lewisetta, 
lower York River, Buckroe Beach, Ocean View, and Lynnhaven Roads, Va., during 1921 and 1922. 
28. Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur. Short-nosed sturgeon. 
Acipenser brevirostrum LeSueur, Trans., Amer. Philo. Soc., I, new series, 1817, p. 390; Delaware River. Uhler and Lugger 
1876, ed. II, p. 155; Jordan and Evermann, 1896-1900, p. 106, PI. XXI, fig. 47. 
Acipenser brevirostris Smith and Bean, 1899, p. 181. 
Head 5 to 6; depth about 8; D. 33; A. 19 to 22. Body much like that of A. oxyrhynchus; 
snout, as compared with A. oxyrhynchus of about the same size, shorter, more blunt, and propor- 
tionately wider at base; eye small, somewhat elongate; interorbital 2.2 to 2.8 in head, somewhat 
concave; mouth one-sixth wider than in specimens of A. oxyrhynchus of same size; two pairs of 
barbels placed in transverse line about midway between end of snout and anterior edge of mouth; 
never touching mouth when deflected; nostrils double, close together, in front of eye, the posterior 
pair the larger; skin rather smooth, compared with A. oxyrhynchus, but with small osseous points 
on unarmed portion; dorsal shields 9 to 12; lateral shields 23 to 29; ventral shields usually 7 or 8, 
but occasionally fewer; with or without preanal shields; fins situated as in A. oxyrhynchus. 
Color blackish, tinged with olive, or reddish brown above; sides reddish mixed with violet, 
sometimes with oblique black bands; white underneath. 
The above description was compiled from published accounts and the examination by us of a 
specimen taken off Provincetown, Mass., and now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cam- 
bridge, Mass. This latter specimen had the following fin and shield counts: D. 33; A. 19; dorsal 
shields 10; lateral shields 26; ventral shields 7; preanal shields 2; length of fish about 30 inches. 
This comparatively rare species resembles rather closely A. oxyrhynchus, and it had frequently 
been thought that it was a variable form of the latter. However, the descriptions given by LeSueur 
(1817) and by Ryder (1890) of short-nose sturgeons taken in the Delaware River leave little doubt 
as to the validity of the species. Ryder (1890, p. 238) states that “The characteristic dark brown 
or brown color of the animal, its small size, width of mouth, comparatively smooth skin, and early 
maturity render it impossible to question the identification which is thus established. The color 
alone is diagnostic; none of the young of the common species are dark colored, while the character- 
istic dirty olive green or brownish, with a shade of green in it, is always markedly characteristic of 
the common species at all stages of its growth.” 
Five specimens came under Ryder’s observation, the smallest 18 inches and the largest not 
exceeding LeSueur’s 33-inch specimen. The sexual organs of four of these (roes and milts) were 
far more developed than specimens of A. oxyrhynchus of corresponding sizes; in fact, the sexes of 
the latter species of these lengths could not be determined with certainty. 
