Alabama sturgeon [SEP] IUCN conservation status
Alabama sturgeon
The Alabama sturgeon, "Scaphirhynchus suttkusi", is a critically endangered species of sturgeon native to the United States of America and now only believed to exist in of the lower Alabama River. The fish has a distinctive yellowish-orange color, grows to a size of about long and , 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.
Protected
adjacent Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, possibly established resident only in Florida and Mississippi.
Brood.
Adults occur in most of Florida from about March to November, apparently with several broods per year.
Conservation status.
The species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List. NatureServe ranks the species with a rounded global conservation status of G3: vulnerable. The species may be extirpated in the Florida Keys.
External links.
- Watercolor of larval, chrysalis and adult forms by John Abbott: