Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris)

General data

Main name: Green sturgeon
Climates: Temperate, Subpolar
Habitat: Anadromous
Native: North America
Distribution: Pacific Ocean, Columbia River, Yukon, Sacramento River, San Joaquin River

Classification

Genus: Acipenser - Greater sturgeons
Family: Acipenseridae - Sturgeons
Order: Acipenseriformes - Sturgeons and Paddlefish
Class: Chondrostei - Sturgeons
Superclass: Osteichthyes - Bony fishes

Description

Green sturgeon are similar in appearance to white sturgeon, except the barbels are closer to the mouth than to the tip of the long, narrow snout. The dorsal row of bony plates numbers 8–11, lateral rows, 23–30, and bottom rows, 7–10; there is one large scute behind the dorsal fin as well as behind the anal fin (both lacking in white sturgeon). The scutes also tend to be sharper and more pointed than in white sturgeon. The dorsal fin has 33–36 rays, the anal fin, 22–28. The body colour of the white sturgeon is yellow with some pink instead of the green of the green sturgeon. Green sturgeon can reach 210 cm (7 feet) in length and weigh up to 160 kg (350 pounds). North America: Aleutian Islands and the Gulf of Alaska to Ensenada, Mexico. Considered vulnerable in Canada. The Asian population is now considered to be a separate species Acipenser mikadoi.

Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris)

General data

Classification

Description

Taxonomy of Fishes