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Photo credit: Photo credit: © Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking project |
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| Green sturgeon are large bottom oriented anadromous fish. Their snout is elongated and bladelike with 4 barbels (sensory “whiskers”) in front of the mouth. The upper lobe of the tail is longer than the lower lobe, similar to most sharks. Like most sturgeon, they are characterized by unique arrangements of armored plates called scutes, which are located along their back and sides. They can be distinguished from white sturgeon (with which they co-occur) by the number of scutes along the side of the body. Green sturgeon have 23 to 30 scutes, compared to over 38 for white sturgeon. Green sturgeon also have 1-2 scutes behind the dorsal fin (white sturgeon have none), and a relatively long snout with barbels (whisker like appendages) closer to the mouth than the tip of the snout. While many green sturgeon are olive-green on their dorsal side, they can be gray or golden brown. |
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| Learn More... |
- Conservation Notes: This section includes information on threats to this species, its importance to humans and estuaries and how you can help to protect this specie
- Profile: This section includes biological and life history information such as the species description, relatives, size/weight, diet, reproduction information, habitat and range.
- References: This section includes the list of articles and books cited in the information about the species.
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Did you know? The scutes on the skin of sturgeon are modified bony scales that can be very sharp. |
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Type: Fish |
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Diet: Burrowing shrimps and ghost shrimp, as well as mollusks, amphipods, and small fish |
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Average lifespan in the wild: over 40 years |
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Size: 7 feet (adult female maximum) |
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Weight: 350 lb (maximum) |
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Found in the following Estuarine Reserves: Padilla Bay (WA), South Slough (OR), San Francisco (CA), Elkhorn Slough (CA), Tijuana River (CA) |
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Water quality factors needed for survival: Find details about water temperature, turbidity, water flow, salinity, dissolved oxygen at this link. |
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Threats: |
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- Water development
- Land use
- Fishing
- Bycatch
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Click map for larger image |
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