The Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee River - Questions and Answers

General Information Product 72
Prepared in cooperation with Sturgeon Quest
By:  and 

Links

Abstract

Sturgeons and paddlefishes are modern descendants of an ancient group of freshwater fishes, the Chondrostei (a group of bony fishes with mostly cartilaginous skeletons). Sturgeons evolved during the Age of the Dinosaurs, and have prospered in the large rivers and lakes of North America, Europe and Asia for 200 million years. Together with alligators and crocodiles, they survived the mass extinction at the end of the Mesozoic Era, when the dinosaurs and many other groups of animals disappeared forever. They originated prior to the creation of the Atlantic Ocean, when the Northern Hemisphere supercontinent Pangea broke into North America and Eurasia. Most sturgeons are highly specialized to feed in the sediment on small invertebrate prey, a radical evolutionary departure from most of their fish-eating ancestors.
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title The Gulf Sturgeon in the Suwannee River - Questions and Answers
Series title General Information Product
Series number 72
DOI 10.3133/gip72
Edition -
Year Published 2009
Language ENGLISH
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Contributing office(s) Florida Integrated Science Center
Description 12 p.
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details