416 Fishes. 
II. Cartilaginous Fishes. 
THE STURGEON, (Acipenser sturio,) 
Sometimes grows to the length of eight or ten feet, and 
has been found to weigh five hundred pounds. It has 
a long, slender, pointed nose, small eyes, and a small 
mouth destitute of teeth, placed beneath and unsup- 
ported by the maxillae ; so that when the animal is dead, 
the mouth remains always open. The body is covered 
with five rows of large bony tubercles, and the under 
side is flat ; it has one dorsal fin, two pectoral, two ven- 
tral, and one anal. The upper part of the body is of a 
muddy olive colour, and the under part silvery. The 
tail is bifurcated, the upper part being much longer 
than the under. Sturgeons subsist principally on insects 
and marine plants, which they find at the bottom of the 
water, where they mostly resort. 
The Sturgeon annually ascends our rivers in the sum- 
mer, particularly those of the Eden and Esk ; and when 
caught, as it sometimes is, in the salmon-nets, it scarcely 
makes any resistance, but is drawn out of the water 
apparently lifeless. One of the largest Sturgeons ever 
caught in our rivers was taken in the Esk a good many 
years ago : it weighed four hundred and sixty pounds. 
This fish is found in most of the rivers in Europe ; it is 
also common in those of North America, and especially 
in the lakes and rivers of Northern Asia. 
The flesh of the Sturgeon is delicious ; and it was so 
much valued in the time of the Emperor Severus, that it 
