White sturgeon [1] ( lat. Acipenser transmontanus ) is a species of sturgeon fish found along the western coast of North America from the Aleutian Islands to central California. The largest freshwater fish in North America, the third largest of the sturgeon (after beluga and kaluga ). The maximum body weight of a white sturgeon is 816 kg and a length of 6.1 m [2] .
| White sturgeon |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Subclass : | Cartilaginous Ganoids |
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| International scientific name |
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Acipenser transmontanus richardson , 1836 |
| Security status |
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Least ConcernedIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 234 |
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The body of a white sturgeon has an elongated and slender shape. Like all sturgeons, the white sturgeon has no scales . Instead, on the body of the fish there are wide protective bone shields - bugs. On the back of the sturgeon there are from 11 to 14 such scutes (all are located in front of the dorsal fin), on the sides of the body their number ranges from 38 to 48, and there are also from 9 to 12 abdominal scutes on each side of the abdomen.
The color of the back and sides of the white sturgeon varies from gray and pale olive to gray-brown. The belly and lower part of the sturgeon’s head are light white. The fins are usually dark gray. A white sturgeon has 4 white sensory antennae on its nose, above its large toothless mouth, which it uses to search for food.
Sturgeon belongs to the class of bone fish , nevertheless, it is more cartilaginous fish than bone fish , and its internal bone structure is more reminiscent of the structure of sharks . Sturgeons have changed very little since its inception (about 175 million years ago), so the sturgeon and its appearance resembles many extinct ancient fish.
