Acipenser fulvescens

Also known as Rock Sturgeon, Rubbernose Sturgeon, Red Sturgeon

Lake sturgeons are living fossils of North American freshwaters, recognizable by their armored rows of bony scutes, shark-like tails, and sensitive chin barbels used to locate prey along lake beds. Females can live for over a century and do not reach sexual maturity until around twenty years of age, making populations exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing and dams. Spring spawning migrations send these massive, primitive fish ascending clear rivers, where they deposit eggs over gravelly rapids.