- Sturgeon
- Sturgeon Stur"geon, n. [F. esturgeon, LL. sturio, sturgio,
OHG. sturjo, G. st["o]r; akin to AS. styria, styriga.]
(Zo["o]l.)
Any one of numerous species of large cartilaginous ganoid
fishes belonging to {Acipenser} and allied genera of the
family {Acipenserid[ae]}. They run up rivers to spawn, and
are common on the coasts and in the large rivers and lakes of
North America, Europe, and Asia. Caviar is prepared from the
roe, and isinglass from the air bladder.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The common North American species are {Acipenser sturio} of the Atlantic coast region, {Acipenser transmontanus} of the Pacific coast, and {Acipenser rubicundus} of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. In Europe, the common species is {Acipenser sturio}, and other well-known species are the sterlet and the huso. The sturgeons are included in the order {Chondrostei}. Their body is partially covered by five rows of large, carinated, bony plates, of which one row runs along the back. The tail is heterocercal. The toothless and protrusile mouth is beneath the head, and has four barbels in front. [1913 Webster]
{Shovel-nosed sturgeon}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Shovelnose} (d) . [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
