Family Acipenseridae

Sturgeons

Selected Characters: Five rows of bony scutes on body; mouth inferior; teeth absent in adults; four barbels anterior to mouth.

Sturgeons are large, primitive fishes found in the Northern Hemisphere. Many species are restricted to freshwater, but several are anadromous. Sturgeon use their protrusible mouths to grab fishes and invertebrates along the silty bottom. The most significant commercial use of sturgeon is the harvest of their eggs for caviar. There are 24 species recognized in this family, two of which are found in Puget Sound. The Green Sturgeon grows to about 2 meters long, and the White Sturgeon may reach lengths of about 6 meters. Sturgeons are not frequently encountered in Puget Sound.

Puget Sound Species

Acipenser medirostris Green Sturgeon

Acipenser transmontanus White Sturgeon