Author: Rafinesque, 1817
FBname: Lake sturgeon
Comments: Inhabits bottom of lakes and large rivers (Ref. 10294), usually in 5-9 m depth, over mud, sand, and gravel.  Occasionally enters brackish water.  A specimen caught in 1952 was reputed to have been 152 years old (Ref. 6866).  Search for food, with the aid of the sensory ability of the barbels, by constantly moving close to the substrate.  Omnivorous, virtually anything edible that enters the mouth is sucked up and consumed.  The food is worked or pulled in the mouth, often partly ejected and sucked in again (Ref. 1998).  Spawning sites are rocky and boulder filled areas  along the outside bend of rivers (Ref. 41542).  In the 1800s, it was extensively exploited for oil to fire boilers on steamboats, animal feed and fertilizer.  Later is was high-valued as smoked, caviar and isinglass (Ref. 117245).  In 1951, Canada, 2,000 lbs. of caviar were made from the eggs (Ref. 37032).  It continous to be an important source of food for Indigenous people in North America (Ref. 117245).  Threatened due to over harvesting, habitat loss and pollution (Ref. 58490).