Skeletal Anatomy of the Shortnose Sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum Lesueur, 1818, and the Systematics of Sturgeons (Acipenseriformes, Acipenseridae)

Abstract Sturgeons of the family Acipenseridae comprise 25 extant species, making it the most species-rich extant family of basal (i.e., nonteleostean) actinopterygians. Because of their basal position within Actinopterygii, the anatomical study of sturgeons has a long and rich history, although there remains much to be discovered. Here we describe and illustrate the skeletal anatomy of the shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum, as a representative of the family Acipenseridae. Acipenser brevirostrum, which is distributed along the east coast of North America, is a relatively small species of sturgeon, reaching a maximum of just over 1 m in total length. Our study is based on 105 skeletal and 147 alcohol-stored specimens representing a broad range of ontogenetic stages (ca. 18 to 1000+ mm TL). This study emphasizes the bony portions of the skeleton, their ontogeny, and parts of the skeleton that persist as cartilaginous elements into the adult stage; the earliest stages of development of the chondrocr...