Alabama sturgeon
| Alabama sturgeon | |
|---|---|
CITES Appendix II
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acipenseriformes |
| Family: | Acipenseridae |
| Genus: | Scaphirhynchus |
| Species: | S. suttkusi
|
| Binomial name | |
| Scaphirhynchus suttkusi J. D. Williams & Clemmer 1991
| |
| Red: extant
Green: extinct | |
The Alabama sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus suttkusi) is a species of sturgeon native to the United States of America and now only believed to exist in 130 miles (210 km) of the lower Alabama River. Its historical ranges were believed to be over 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) of river and included the Alabama, Tombigbee, Mobile, Tensaw, Black Warrior, Cahaba, Coosa, and Tallapoosa rivers
The fish has a distinctive yellowish-orange color, grows to a size of about 30 in (76 cm) long and 2 to 3 lb (0.9–1.4 kg), and is believed to have a lifespan of 12 to 20 years. Biologists have known of the fish since the 1950s or 1960s, but the large diversity of aquatic species in Alabama prevented formal identification until 1991.