Sturgeon

Sturgeon, a book-name for a family (Acipenseridae) of cartilaginous Ganoid fishes, having five rows of bony plates on the long cylincltical body. The snout is produced, and the under-jaw bears four barbules. The tail is unsymmetrical, and the anal and dorsal fins are far back. They are found in the north temperate zone, and either iive in fresh water or resort to rivers to spawn. Many of them are of large size, and their flesh is valued as food. Caviare is prepared from the roe, and isinglass from the inner coats of the swim-bladder. Sturgeons feed on worms and shell-fish, which they obtain by routing with their snouts. The type-genus (Acipenser) has about twenty species from the rivers of Europe, Asia, and America. The Common Sturgeon (A. sturio) often occurs round the British coasts and in the estuaries of our rivers. From six feet to ten feet is about the average length, but larger specimens are recorded. The general colour is greyish above and silvery-white below. In England it has been one of the fishes-royal (q.v.) since the 14th century. Other species are the Sterlet (A. ruthenus), the Hausen (A. huso), the Chinese Sturgeon (A. sinensis). The genus Scaphirhynohus, with four species from Asia and America, has a flat snout.