Species: Acipenser transmontanus
White Sturgeon
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
The largest North American freshwater fish; maximum length about 610 cm, maximum mass 1800 lbs (816 kg).
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Actinopterygii
Order
Acipenseriformes
Family
Acipenseridae
Genus
Acipenser
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
esturgeon blanc
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Fishes - Bony Fishes - Other Bony Fishes
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Actinopterygii - Acipenseriformes - Acipenseridae - Acipenser - Krieger et al. (2000) examined phylogenetic relationships of North American sturgeons based on mtDNA sequences and found that (1) nucleotide sequences for all four examined genes for the three SCAPHIRHYNCHUS species were identical; (2) the two ACIPENSER OXYRINCHUS subspecies were very similar in sequence; (3) A. TRANSMONTANUS and A. MEDIROSTRIS were sister taxa, as were A. FULVESCENS and A. BREVIROSTRUM (in constrast to Birstein and DeSalle 1998).
Ecology and Life History
The largest North American freshwater fish; maximum length about 610 cm, maximum mass 1800 lbs (816 kg).
Short General Description
A very large fish (sturgeon).
Habitat Type Description
Freshwater
Migration
false - true - true - Some are anadromous and make extensive saltwater migrations. Many move more locally from estuaries to fresh water, or farther inland within fresh water, to spawn.
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
true
Food Comments
A bottom feeder. Young feed mostly on the larvae of aquatic insects, crustaceans, and molluscs. A significant portion of the diet of larger sturgeon consists of fish.
Reproduction Comments
In the Columbia River, spawns May-July (Wydoski and Whitney 1979). In California, spawning apparently occurs between mid-March and early June (Moyle 1976). Spawning occurs at intervals of 4 to 11 years. Larvae hatch from eggs in 1-2 weeks. Males may reach sexual maturity in about 9 years, females in 13-16 years (Wydoski and Whitney 1979). May live over 100 years.
Length
340
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G4
Global Status Last Reviewed
2002-11-12
Global Status Last Changed
1996-09-09
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S2&US.AK=S3&US.AZ=SE&US.CA=S2&US.ID=S1&US.MT=S1&US.OR=S4&US.WA=S3" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - Pacific slope of North America from Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to Monterey, California (Lee et al. 1980). A land-locked population occurs in upper Columbia River system. Significant populations occur in the Sacramento, Columbia, and Fraser rivers. Introduced in lower Colorado River, Arizona (Page and Burr 1991).
Global Range Code
H
Global Range Description
>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)