Chondropterygii is one of the two great sections into which Cuvier divided the class Pisces or fishes, distinguished from the fishes with true bone by the cartilaginous or gristly substance of which the bones are composed, and by the cartilaginous spines of the fins. The families include the sturgeon, shark, ray, and lamprey. Research Chondropterygii
The ganoids or Ganoidei are an order of fish. The families of this order are chiefly characterized by angular, rhomboidal, polygonal, or circular scales composed of horny or bony plates covered with a thick plate of glossy enamel-like substance.
The ganoids were most numerous in Paleozoic and early Mesozoic times, but are now represented by seven genera: Lepidosteus, the bony pikes or gar-pikes of the North American fresh-water lakes; Polypterus, represented by a single species occurring in rivers of tropical Africa; Calamoichthys, a similar genus found in Old Calabar; Amia, the fresh-water mud-fish of North America; Acipenser, represented by the sturgeon; Scaphirhynchius, best known by the so-called shovel-nosed sturgeon of the Mississippi basin; and the genus Polyodon or Spatularia, the paddle-fishes of the Mississippi and great rivers of China. Research Ganoid
The sturgeon (Acipenser) is a large ganoidfish of the order Palaeonisciformes, family Acipenseridae. The species are exclusively inhabitants of the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, found both sides of the Atlantic, and live either in fresh water or pass a part of the year in rivers to spawn. They are large sluggish fishes reaching a length of three meters, and live on worms, crustaceans and molluscs which they rout out from the bottom with their snout which projects far in advance of the small, toothless mouth.
The skeleton is gristly, not bony, which is partly compensated by the head being encased in hard, bony plates which continue in five longitudinal rows along the body. The tail is heterocercal, the upper lobe being much longer than the lower. The Sturgeon has a single dorsal fin placed far back, only a little in advance of the tail.
The sturgeon is a 'royal fish' in Great Britain, as decreed by an Act of Parliament of Edward II, but the lord mayor of London has claim to those fish taken above London Bridge.
About twenty species of sturgeon are known, half of which occur in Europe. The largest species is Acipenser huso which is found in the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Black Sea, the Danube and surrounding areas. Research Sturgeon
Daniel Sturgeon was an American politician. He was born in 1789 and died in 1878. He was treasurer of Pennsylvania in 1838 and 1839. He represented Pennsylvania in the US Senate as a Democrat from 1839 to 1851, and was treasurer of the US Mint from 1853 to 1858. Research Daniel Sturgeon
The SS-N-20 (Sturgeon) or RSM-52, is a Russian intercontinental, three stage solid propellant ballistic missile consisting of 10 independently targetable multiple re-entry vehicles (MIRV's), each with a 100 kiloton nuclear warhead. Guidance is inertial with stellar reference updating. Range is 8,300 km with accuracy (CEP) of 500 m. The missile weighs 84,000 kg at launch. The SS-N-20 missile was designed by the Makayev DesignBureau. Research SS-N-20
The Short S.B.9 Sturgeon was a British carrier-borne naval target-tug originally developed as a twin-engined fleet reconnaissance bomber and first flown in 1946, but only a few were built. The Short S.B.9 Sturgeon was powered by two Rolls-RoyceMerlin 140 engines. Research Short S.B.9
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Acipenser
