Atlantic Sturgeon

SIZE:/WEIGHT:14 feet long - 800 pounds
LIFESPAN: over 150 years
COLOR: Cryptic earth brown coloration lends itself well to the life of a slow-moving bottom dweller.
WHERE FOUND: Along the coastal regions of the Atlantic from Florida to the St. Lawrence river.
ECOLOGICAL HABITAT: Adults move in from the shallows of the Atlantic ocean inland to cool fresh water rivers and waterways to spawn. Juveniles live their early lives in these fresh wate habitats.

FEEDING: Sturgeons feed off the bottom by a specialized tube-like mouth part located on their ventral side. They feel along the dark bottom using a whisker feeler apparatus. Food consists of animal and plant life, dead and alive.
REPRODUCTION: Sturgeon females lay millions of eggs at a time, which are fertilized outside her body by the male. Much less than one percent of the eggs ever develop into adults.

The Atlantic Sturgeon is considered locally extirpated from much of its former range. The decline of this species is due to the effects of dams, water pollution, and over fishing -especially for its highly esteemed caviar. Today most of the sturgeon caught are less than half the size of those caught earlier in the centure (70 vs. 149). In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania the Atlantic Sturgeon is listed as threatened. By definition this means that catching, killing, possessing, importing to or exporting from this Commonwealth, selling, or offering for sale, or purchasing of ths species, alive or dead, without a special permit is prohibited.

The Atlantic Sturgeon is a denizen of the past living in today's world. It is characterized best as a long brown fish with skeletal system made up of mostly cartilage with a tough armored hide consisting of rows of bony plated, and looks more like something that would be found in a museum rather than the Pittsburgh Zoo's public aquarium. Since the Atlantic Sturgeon is listed as a protected species in Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Aqua Zoo has been issued a special permit by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to display the Atlantic Sturgeon for educational purposed.