White sturgeon
White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)
Introduction
The white sturgeon is a unique freshwater fish species that plays a significant role in British Columbia's cultural and social heritage, as well as our economy. The white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) belongs to the sturgeon family Acipenseridae. Not only is it the largest sturgeon species in North America, it is also the largest freshwater fish species in North America.
Physical appearance
The white sturgeon has a slender, long body, head and mouth. This fish has no scales; instead it has large bony scutes that serve as a form of armor. There are 11–14 dorsal scutes, all anterior to the dorsal fin, and 38–48 lateral scutes and 9–12 ventral scutes on each side. The dorsal color of a White Sturgeon is gray, pale olive, or gray-brown. The fins are a dusky, opaque gray. The underside is a clean white. It has four barbels, used for sensing food, near its huge toothless mouth. Sturgeons are classified as a bony fish, but actually are more cartilaginous than bony, their internal bone structure being more like a shark’s. Sturgeon have changed very little since they first appeared, over 175 million years ago and thus have the appearance of a very ancient fish. Two imposing features of the White Sturgeon – the huge size reached by the oldest adults and the rows of bony shields – set this fish strikingly apart from other freshwater species in the province. Reaching 6 m in length, 635 kg in weight and over 100 years in age, this is the largest freshwater fish in Canada. Armoured relics from the past, sturgeon have remained relatively unchanged in structure for millions of years. The torpedo-shaped White Sturgeon has no scales. Its protective bony plates, or scutes, are arranged in five rows – one along the back, one along the middle of each side, and one along each side of the belly. The plates of young sturgeon have very sharp points, which become blunted with age. Its tail has a shark-like upper lobe, which is
Introduction
The white sturgeon is a unique freshwater fish species that plays a significant role in British Columbia's cultural and social heritage, as well as our economy. The white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) belongs to the sturgeon family Acipenseridae. Not only is it the largest sturgeon species in North America, it is also the largest freshwater fish species in North America.
Physical appearance
The white sturgeon has a slender, long body, head and mouth. This fish has no scales; instead it has large bony scutes that serve as a form of armor. There are 11–14 dorsal scutes, all anterior to the dorsal fin, and 38–48 lateral scutes and 9–12 ventral scutes on each side. The dorsal color of a White Sturgeon is gray, pale olive, or gray-brown. The fins are a dusky, opaque gray. The underside is a clean white. It has four barbels, used for sensing food, near its huge toothless mouth. Sturgeons are classified as a bony fish, but actually are more cartilaginous than bony, their internal bone structure being more like a shark’s. Sturgeon have changed very little since they first appeared, over 175 million years ago and thus have the appearance of a very ancient fish. Two imposing features of the White Sturgeon – the huge size reached by the oldest adults and the rows of bony shields – set this fish strikingly apart from other freshwater species in the province. Reaching 6 m in length, 635 kg in weight and over 100 years in age, this is the largest freshwater fish in Canada. Armoured relics from the past, sturgeon have remained relatively unchanged in structure for millions of years. The torpedo-shaped White Sturgeon has no scales. Its protective bony plates, or scutes, are arranged in five rows – one along the back, one along the middle of each side, and one along each side of the belly. The plates of young sturgeon have very sharp points, which become blunted with age. Its tail has a shark-like upper lobe, which is