Shortnose Sturgeon

The shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is a small and endangered species of North American sturgeon. As with most sturgeons, it is an anadromous bottom-feeder, which migrates upstream to spawn but spends most of its life feeding in rivers, deltas and estuaries.

Shortnose sturgeons are long-lived and slow to sexually mature. The shortnose sturgeon is often mistaken as a juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (A. oxyrinchus) because of its small size. Prior to 1973, U.S. commercial fishing records did not differentiate between the two species: both were reported as "common sturgeon", although it is believed based on sizes that the bulk of the catch was Atlantic sturgeon. The shortnose is distinguishable from the Atlantic sturgeon due to its shorter and rounder head.