Nebraskaland

54 Nebraskaland • June 2025 MIXED BAG By Monica Macoubrie, Wildlife Education Specialist Sturgeon are in the Acipenseridae family, which globally includes about 25 species of large primitive fi sh. They are true living fossils, as these fi sh haven't changed much over thousands of years. Fish in this family are technically known as bony fi shes, but their skeleton is largely made of cartilage. Other features include elongated bodies; rows of bony scutes, or plates on the body; barbels, which are whisker-like projections in the front of the mouth; and a protrusible, vacuum-like mouth. Specimens over 18 feet have been found in the wild and calculated at more than 100 years old. The name sturgeon in European languages translates to "the stirrer," on account of the fi sh using their barbels, located on the underside of their mouth, to direct food into it. Their toothless, protrusible mouth can extend in and out to vacuum aquatic insects, mussels, worms and crustaceans off the river fl oor. Sturgeon are opportunistic feeders and will pretty much eat anything they can suck up. Sturgeon are one of the few fi shes that have taste buds on the outside of the mouth, which is helpful for food selection; normally, the taste buds on fi sh are found on the tongue or the inside of the mouth. Acipenseridae is one of the oldest families of bony fi sh in existence and sturgeons are one of the few vertebrate taxa that retains a notochord into adulthood. A notochord is a skeletal rod that supports the body. Most animals have this rod in the embryonic stage, but lose it as they grow into adults — sturgeons retain it. Out of the roughly 25 species of sturgeon found globally, Nebraska is lucky to be home to three of those species: the shovelnose sturgeon, the lake sturgeon and the pallid sturgeon. The pallid sturgeon was listed as a federally endangered species in 1990 due to extensive habitat modifi cation, lack of reproduction, commercial harvest and hybridization with shovelnose sturgeon. Much like other long-lived species of fi sh, pallid sturgeon don't reach sexual maturity until 7-9 years for males and 9-15 years for females. Males generally spawn every 2-3 years and females tend to spawn on a 3- to 5-year cycle. Recovery eff orts by many state wildlife agencies, including the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, include strategies such as protection from harvest, protection of habitat and stocking of hatchery-raised fi sh. These eff orts also have been extended to include research and monitoring studies critical to the reproduction and spawning of these ancient fi sh. STURGEON — NEBRASKA'S LIVING DINOSAUR The pallid sturgeon was listed as a federally endangered species in 1990 due to extensive habitat modifi cation, lack of reproduction, commercial harvest and hybridization with shovelnose sturgeon. KEN BOUC, NEBRASKALAND

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