Shortnose sturgeon

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Shortnose sturgeon
Adult above, juvenile below
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Acipenseriformes
Family:	Acipenseridae
Genus:	Acipenser
Species:	A. brevirostrum
Binomial name
Acipenser brevirostrum Lesueur 1818 non Heckel 1836
Synonyms[3][4]
Ichthyocolla Geoffroy 1767 non Agassiz 1846 Dinoctus truncatus Rafinesque 1818 Acipenser (Huso) dekayi Duméril 1870 Acipenser (Huso) lesueurii Valenciennes ex Duméril 1870 Acipenser measius Lesueur 1896 Acipenser (Huso) microrhynchus Duméril 1870 Acipenser obtusirostris Lovetsky 1834 non Brusina 1902 Acipenser (Huso) rostellum Duméril 1870 Acipenser (Huso) simus Valenciennes ex Duméril 1870

The shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is a small and endangered species of North American sturgeon. The earliest remains of the species are from the Late Cretaceous Period, over 70 million years ago.^[5] Shortnose sturgeons are long-lived and slow to sexually mature. Most sturgeons are anadromous bottom-feeders, which means they migrate upstream to spawn but spend most of their lives feeding in rivers, deltas and estuaries. The shortnose sturgeon is often mistaken as a juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (A. oxyrinchus 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.