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Teiotién:taron
by kepo-mck
Lake sturgeon
Acipenser fulvescens
The Lake sturgeon is a long sleek torpedo-shaped fish with a pointed snout They do not have scales but instead rough skin and four barbels (sensory organs) that look like whiskers in the front of their mouth. They can range from a bluish black to brown colour on their back with a whitish underbelly. Sturgeon can reach up to lengths of 6 feet, can weigh up to 200 pounds, and in the wild males have an average lifespan of 55 years while females can live up to 150 years
The Lake sturgeon is currently listed as an endangered species as assessed by the COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada). They are impacted by overfishing, invasive species, pollution, habitat loss and restriction due to human activity such as dams. Their populations can be found in the St. Lawrence River, the Great lakes, and many other rive systems across Turtle Island, often in isolated populations
The Lake Sturgeon have a carnivorous diet of small invertebrates (animals lacking a spine) such as crayfish, snails, leeches, and clams on the bottoms of lakes and rivers which varies depending on what’s available. They have very few natural predators
Females can lay 2 to 3 million eggs per spawning season
