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Acipenser transmontanus Richardson, 1836

White sturgeon
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Acipenser transmontanus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Acipenser transmontanus (White sturgeon)
Acipenser transmontanus
Picture by Østergaard, T.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Chondrostei (sturgeons) > Acipenseriformes (Sturgeons and paddlefishes) > Acipenseridae (Sturgeons) > Acipenserinae
Etymology: Acipenser: Latin, acipenser = sturgeon, 1853 (Ref. 45335);  transmontanus: The specific name is derived from the Latin acipenser (sturgeon), trans (beyond), and montanus (mountain) (Ref. 27436).
More on author: Richardson.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; anadromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 1 - 122 m (Ref. 27547). Temperate; 0°C - 23°C (Ref. 1998); 58°N - 24°N, 163°W - 107°W (Ref. 54269)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Eastern Pacific: Alaska Bay to Monterey, California, USA. Landlocked in Columbia River drainage, Montana, and perhaps Lake Shasta in California, USA. Translocated to lower Colorado River, Arizona in USA. Reported from northern Baja California, Mexico (Ref. 2850, 27436).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 160.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 610 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1998); common length : 21.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. published weight: 816.0 kg (Ref. 27436); max. reported age: 104 years (Ref. 39377)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 44 - 48; Anal soft rays: 28 - 31. Distinguished by the 2 rows of 4 to 8 bony plates on a midventral line between the anus and anal fin, and about 45 rays in the dorsal fin (Ref. 27547). Gray or brownish above, paler below; fins gray (Ref. 27547). Barbels situated closer to snout tip than to mouth; no obvious scutes behind dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 86798).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Spends most of its time in the sea, usually close to shore (Ref. 27547). Enters estuaries of large rivers and moves far inland to spawn (Ref. 5723). Individuals larger than 48.3 cm feed mainly on fishes; smaller ones feed mainly on chironomids, but also takes small crustaceans, other insects and mollusks (Ref. 1998). Feeding ceases just before spawning (Ref. 1998). Excellent food fish that is sold fresh, smoked or frozen (Ref. 9988). Eggs marketed as caviar (Ref. 1998). In the past, the airbladder was made into isinglass (Ref. 27547).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Adults return to the sea after spawning (Ref. 27547). Spawning frequency interval every 4 years for younger females and every 10-11 years in older females (Ref. 1998).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 432 p. (Ref. 5723)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Vulnerable (VU) (A2bc); Date assessed: 15 September 2020

CITES


CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
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Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
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Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
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Nutrients
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Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 8.3 - 12.2, mean 9.7 °C (based on 80 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00324 (0.00161 - 0.00648), b=3.18 (3.01 - 3.35), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 27.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (tm=11-34; tmax=104).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (87 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (48 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 8.84 [4.78, 17.65] mg/100g; Iron = 0.244 [0.136, 0.429] mg/100g; Protein = 17.4 [14.8, 20.2] %; Omega3 = 0.293 [0.147, 0.585] g/100g; Selenium = 31.4 [14.7, 69.3] μg/100g; VitaminA = 4.45 [1.29, 16.47] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.377 [0.252, 0.570] mg/100g (wet weight);