Family: ACIPENSERIDAE, Sturgeons

FAMILY ACIPENSERIDAE

STURGEONS

Body heavy, elongate, nearly cylindrical; head ends in a hard, elongate, bluntly pointed snout; sometimes a small spiracle behind eye; mouth underneath, protrusible, with 4 conspicuous barbells before it; one dorsal fin, well back near tail base; tail fin upper lobe (with a fleshy extension of the tail base) longer than lower; pectorals low, pelvics at rear under abdomen; fins without spines; body with five rows of bony plates, one row along midback, one along midside, another along lower side.

A family of temperate northern hemisphere fishes found in N America, Europe and Asia, with 24 species in 4 genera; 3 N American species enter brackish and marine habitats in our area.