Shovel-nosed sturgeon
(gcide) | Sturgeon \Stur"geon\, n. [F. esturgeon, LL. sturio, sturgio,
OHG. sturjo, G. st["o]r; akin to AS. styria, styriga.]
(Zool.)
Any one of numerous species of large cartilaginous ganoid
fishes belonging to Acipenser and allied genera of the
family Acipenseridae. They run up rivers to spawn, and are
common on the coasts and in the large rivers and lakes of
North America, Europe, and Asia. Caviar is prepared from the
roe, and isinglass from the air bladder.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The common North American species are {Acipenser
sturio} of the Atlantic coast region, {Acipenser
transmontanus} of the Pacific coast, and {Acipenser
rubicundus} of the Mississippi River and its
tributaries. In Europe, the common species is
Acipenser sturio, and other well-known species are
the sterlet and the huso. The sturgeons are included in
the order Chondrostei. Their body is partially
covered by five rows of large, carinated, bony plates,
of which one row runs along the back. The tail is
heterocercal. The toothless and protrusile mouth is
beneath the head, and has four barbels in front.
[1913 Webster]
Shovel-nosed sturgeon. (Zool.) See Shovelnose
(d) .
[1913 Webster] |