Acipenser oxyrinchus

• Overview
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Threatened

Common Names

Description

Family Acipenseridae

Cold to temperate waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Anadromous or restricted to freshwater . Body with 5 rows of scutes . Mouth inferior and protractile. Four barbels anterior to mouth. Less than 50 gill rakers. Adults toothless. Large swim bladder. Attain 4.2 m or longer . Important for their meat and roe . Nearly all species are endangered or threatened.The family Acipenseridae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Acipenseriformes. It contains 4 genera and 23 species. It may be found in Marine , Brackish , and Freshwater environments and is primarily Peripheral/diadromous. Some members of this family are used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be sluggish. Members of this family have been dated back to the Cretaceous period. This family may be found from 78° n to 24° s and 180° w to 180° e. Etymology of this family name : Latin, acipenser = sturgeon . 1853

Habitat

Biome: Fresh water , brackish water, saltwater . Demersal .

Ecology: The Atlantic sturgeon is a large anadromous species. A. o. oxyrinchus is recorded to live for up to 60 years and reach a size of 4.3 m and 368 kg (Vladykov and Greely 1963), though most mature fish are considerably smaller. Spawning occurs in fresh or slightly brackish water when water temperatures reached 13–18˚C. Migrations into coastal tidal rivers begin as early as February in the southern portion of the range and continue through June and July in northernmost waters. In the mid-Atlantic area, Atlantic sturgeon males mature at 6–10 years and females at 10–20 years (ASMFC 1990). Maturation occurs earlier in southern waters and later in Canada. Spawning periodicity ranges from 2–6 years. Based on tagging studies ocean migrations of up to 1,450 km have been recorded (Dovel and Berggren 1983).


List of Habitats :5.1Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls ) 9.10Marine Neritic - Estuaries 10.1Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m) 12.4Marine Intertidal - Mud Flats and Salt Flats 12.5Marine Intertidal - Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses) 13.4Marine Coastal/Supratidal - Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes 15.3Artificial/Aquatic - Aquaculture Ponds

Taxonomy

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: –

Similar Species

Members of the genus Acipenser

There are approximately 158 species in this genus. Here are just 100 of them:

A. acutirostris · A. agassizii · A. albertensis · A. aleutensis · A. alexandri · A. anasimos · A. anthracinus · A. atelaspis · A. sturio · A. ayresii · A. baeri · A. baerii (Long-Nosed Siberian Sturgeon) · A. baerii baerii (Long-Nosed Siberian Sturgeon) · A. baerii baicalensis (Siberian Baikal Sturgeon) · A. baerii baikalensis (Baikal Sturgeon) · A. baerii stenorrhynchus (Lena River Sturgeon) · A. baeri baicalensis · A. baeri brandt · A. baeri stenorrhynchus (Lena River Sturgeon) · A. bairdii · A. beluga · A. brandtii · A. brevirostris · A. brevirostrum (Short-Nosed Little Sturgeon) · A. buffalo · A. carbonarius · A. caryi · A. cataphractus · A. cayennensis · A. chinensis · A. colchicus · A. copei · A. dabryanus (Dabry´s Sturgeon) · A. dauricus · A. ruthenus · A. eruciferus · A. sturio · A. flavescens · A. fulvescens (Lake Sturgeon) · A. girardi · A. glaber · A. gmelini · A. gueldenstaedti · A. gueldenstaedtii (Azov-Black Sea Sturgeon) · A. gueldenstaedti acutirostris · A. gueldenstaedti brandt (Azov-Black Sea Sturgeon) · A. gueldenstaedti colchicus · A. gueldenstaedti golis · A. gueldenstaedti longirostris · A. gueldenstaedti scaber · A. gueldenstaedti tanaica · A. guldenstadtii · A. heckelii · A. helops · A. holbrookii · A. honneymani · A. hospitus · A. huso · A. ruthenus · A. kaluschka · A. kennicottii · A. kikuchii · A. kirtlandii · A. kostera · A. naccarii · A. laevis · A. lamarii · A. latirostris · A. lecontei · A. lesueurii · A. lichtensteinii · A. liopeltis · A. gueldenstaedtii · A. macrorhinus · A. maculosus · A. mantschuricus · A. mediorostris · A. medirostris (Green Japanese Sturgeon) · A. gueldenstaedtii · A. microrhynchus · A. mikadoi (Sakhalin Sturgeon) · A. milberti · A. mitchillii · A. schrenckii (Japanese Sturgeon) · A. nacarii · A. naccari · A. naccarii (Adriatic Sturgeon) · A. nardoi · A. nasus · A. nertinianus · A. nudiventris (Fringe-Lipped Worm Eel) · A. nudiventris derjavini · A. obtusirostris · A. oligopeltis · A. orientalis · A. ornatus · A. oxyrhinchus · A. oxyrhynchus · A. oxyrhynchus desotoi · A. oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus (Atlantic Sturgeon)

More Info

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Further Reading

• Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 1990. Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Sturgeon. Fisheries Management Report No. 17, November 1990. ASMFC, Washington, D.C. 73 p.
• Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
• Barkuloo, J.M. 1988. Report on the conservation status of the Gulf of Mexico sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhynchus desotoi. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Panama City, FL. 33 p.
• Bateman, D.H. and Brim, M.S. 1994. Environmental contaminants in Gulf sturgeon of Northwest Florida 1985-1991. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Publication. PCFO-EC 94-09. Panama City, FL. 23 p
• Caron, F. and Trembly, S. 1997. Structure and management of an exploited population of Atlantic sturgeon in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada. Ministere de l’Environnement et de la Faune.
• Distribution and abundance of fishes and invertebrates in Gulf of Mexico estuaries / project team, David M. Nelson (editor) [et al.]. Rockville, Md.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, [1992]-[1997] ENG url p. 133.
• Dovel, W.L. and Berggstrom, T.J. 1983. Atlantic sturgeon of the Hudson River Estuary, New York. New York Fish and Game Journal 30(2): 140-172.
• Fishery bulletin / U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service. Washington, D.C.: The Service: ENG url p. 166, p. 800, p. 803, p. 886, p. 888, p. 891.
• Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, by Henry B. Bigelow and William C. Schroeder. Washington, United States Government Printing Office, 1953. ENG url p. 81.
• IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
• IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
• Lorio, W. 2000. Proceedings of the Gulf of Mexico sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) status of the subspecies workshop. Mississippi State University, Stennis Space Center, MS.
• Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History. Boston [etc.]Boston Society of Natural History. ENG url p. 28, p. 58.
• Stabile, J., Waldman, J.R., Parauka, F. and Wirgin, I. 1996. Stock structure and homing fidelity in Gulf of Mexico sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) based on restriction fragment length polymorphism and sequences analysis of mitochondrial DNA. Genetics 144: 767-775.
• Sulak, K.J. and Clugston, J.P. 1999. Recent advances in life history of Gulf of Mexico sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, in the Suwannee River, Florida, USA: a synopsis. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 15:116-128.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. 1995. Gulf sturgeon recovery plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, Atlanta.
• Vladykov, V.D. and Greely, J.R. 1963. Order Acipenseroidei. In: Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Sears Foundation. Marine Research, Yale University, New Haven, CT. 1(3). 630p

Notes

Contributors

• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed April 20, 2007.
• FishBase 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 02, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 4 providers.
• St. Pierre, R. & Parauka, F.M. (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) 2006. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 02, 2008:

• Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Fish Collection
• FishBase: FishBase DiGIR Provider - Philippine Server
• GBIF-Sweden: Fishes (NRM)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Atlantic Reference Centre (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Bay of Fundy Species List (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Canadian Museum of Nature - Fish Collection (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: DFO Maritimes Research Vessel Trawl Surveys Fish Observations (OBIS Canada)
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University: Electronic Atlas of Ichthyoplankton on the Scotian Shelf of North America (OBIS Canada)
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB: Paleobiology Database
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle: Ichtyologie
• Royal Ontario Museum: Fish specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2504281
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-60217
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13545176
• IUCN ID: 245
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1118947

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