Acipenser oxyrinchus
Atlantic Sturgeon
NS
G3
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons and Paddlefishes)
Acipenseridae (Sturgeons)
Acipenser
Acipenser oxyrinchus (Atlantic Sturgeon)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (Carpenter, K.E. (ed.) 2002. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Body shape: elongated. Elongate fish, pentagonal in cross section and shark-like fins (Ref. 26938). Double row of pre anal shields. Presence of a soft fontanelle. Bony shields are oval. Carina on dorsal shields do not have a conspicuous hook. Head and back bluish-black and lower surface whitish (Ref. 37032). Snout long, sharply V-shaped. 2 pairs of short, slender barbels in transverse line midway between end of snout and anterior edge of mouth (Ref. 4639). Viscera pale (Ref. 7251). Presence of 4 small scutes, usually as 2 pairs between anal fin and caudal fulcrum (Ref. 86798). Striking features: other (see remarks).
Distribution
Canada to N Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, and French
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish, marine. demersal. depth range 1-46 m. Found in: streams, estuaries.
Biology
To 403 cm.
Anadromous species. Occurs solitarily or in small groups; inhabits shallow waters of continental shelves. At the sea, it occurs in coastal and estuarine areas on soft bottom (Ref. 59043) down to a depth of 50 m (Ref. 89115). Adults are highly migratory while at sea (Ref. 57533) and make long migrations along the coast (Ref. 59043). Feeds on benthhic invertebrates such as mollusks, crustaceans and aquitic insects from the sediments (Ref. 93252). They forage mainly in brackish waters (Ref. 59043). Ascend large rivers to spawn (Ref. 59043). Juveniles may remain in fresh or brackish water until 2-5 years of age or 76-91.5 cm long (Ref. 4639, 59043). Today most individuals do not exceed 250 cm length. Tagging studies have shown that this species may move distances up to 1,450 km (Ref. 89119). Used smoked and fresh (Ref. 37032). Near threatened globally, but extirpated in Europe due to massive overfishing, damming, river regulation and pollution (Ref. 59043).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Matures at increasing ages with increasing latitude (Ref. 88171). Both sexes do not spawn yearly and spawning intervals may vary according to area. In the St. Lawrence River, males spawn every 1-5 years, females every 3-5 years (Ref. 89103). Adults from the sea begin to ascend the lower reaches of large rivers in spring with the majority ascending immediately prior to spawning. Spawning occurs between March and August (Ref. 59043), when water temperature is 13.3-17.8 °C (Ref. 89118). Spawning occurs over bedrock, boulders or gravel bottoms, in depths exceeding 10 m at current velocities of 0.5-0.8 m/s (Ref. 59043, 89103). Exact time of spawning depends on temperature (Ref. 26938). Per female 0.4-8 million eggs may be spawned (Ref. 45706, 84845, 89137). Eggs demersal, sticking to stones, measuring 2.55 mm in diameter and hatching in 1 week at 17.8 °C (Ref. 4639, 9980). Adults return to the sea after spawning (Ref. 59043). Sturgeons in general have a high capacity for hybridization and most species are able to cross-breed (Ref. 89103, 89117).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU), assessed 2019-09-14. Resilience: Very low (K=0.03; tm=7-34; tmax=60; Fec=1.03 million).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial.
References
Jones, P.W., F.D. Martin and J.D. Hardy Jr. (1978) Development of fishes of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. An atlas of eggs, larval and juvenile stages. Vol. 1. Acipenseridae through Ictaluridae. U.S. Fish Wildl. Ser. Biol. Serv. Program FWS/OBS-78/12. 336 p.
Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr (1991) A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p.
Sokolov, L.I. and L.S. Berdicheskii (1989) Acipenseridae. p. 150-153. In J. Holcík (ed.) The freshwater fishes of Europe. Vol. 1, Part II. General introduction to fishes Acipenseriformes. AULA-Verlag Wiesbaden. 469 p.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Bigelow, H.B., M.G. Bradbury, J.R. Dymond, J.R. Greeley, S.F. Hildebrand, G.W. Mead, R.R. Miller, L.R. Rivas, W.L. Schroeder, R.D. Suttkus and V.D. Vladykov (1963) Fishes of the western North Atlantic. Part three. New Haven, Sears Found. Mar. Res., Yale Univ.
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