Talk:Sturgeon

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This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, now in the public domain.


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[edit] Coverage

There's some confusion about level of coverage. The article title is "sturgeon", which probably equates best with the family Acipenseridae. The lead and taxobox suggest that the genus Acipenser is covered; however the article goes on to mention fish in the genus Huso, so perhaps the subfamily Acipenserinae is meant. Gdr 16:16, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

The article is rather misleading, as it mainly deals with the genus Acipenser (both text and taxobox), while the name "sturgeon" is used for *all* members of the family Acipenseridae. Either this article should be modifed so it covers the entire family, or the current content should be moved to Acipenser, with sturgeon instead being a redirect to the family. 212.10.84.33 (talk) 13:57, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sacred sturgeon

Are there any references to the "Sacred Sturgeon"? I cannot find any references elsewhere on any of its supposed names or scientific name. While the names of fish are often pretty silly, "supreme overlord sturgeon" seems to push the envelope. Anyone else think this was just jokingly added? -I am removing this entry, as there has been no response and I am completely unable to find any reference to it.

[edit] Size of Huso huso

Huso huso is the largest of all sturgeons and the largest fish which swims from the sea in freshwater, but it doesn´t reach lengths of 7m the longest specimens which were ever caught (and not only specimens from big-fish-stories which were said that somebody caught them) were a bit over 5m and in fact about 1200kg in weight. A hypothetical huso of 7m would have a weight of about 3tons or more.


[edit] Number of Genera of Sturgeon

Why do we keep saying that there are only two genera of sturgeons, Acipencer and Scaphirhynchus, even though the entry for Family Acipenceridae mentions Huso, and that there is information about a fourth genus, Pseudoscaphirhynchus?--Mr Fink 03:13, 22 May 2006 (UTC)23 species

[edit] Update badly needed

This article is seriously out of date as it is based on the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. I have added a couple of short notes but much more could and should be said about the threats faced by sturgeon.John Hill 10:19, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. This is a terrible citation. When else have we ever seen a 1911 encyclopedic citation as the primary reference? Tgm1024 16:38, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
I also agree that an update is needed. This article claimes that Sturgeons don't inhait tropical regions, but we definatly have them here in South Florida! There also needs to be more info on the dangers of an attack.
"Dangers of an attack"- from a sturgeon??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.106.108.201 (talk) 21:56, 26 October 2007 (UTC)
"Attack" is the wrong word, but one used by newspaper writers to sensationalize their headlines/articles. Almost all species of sturgeon jump. Hitting a 300 pound animal with sharp "bony" plates while travelling 30-40 miles per hour on a boat/jet ski can lead to serious injuries to the boater. See some of the sourcing at Gulf sturgeon. GRBerry 13:44, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cleanup

Should be more structured and in conjunction with subset articles like White_sturgeon. Manasl 23:27, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Toxicology Update

I believe that there are also some toxicology reports pertaining to the preparation, cooking and consumption of the Sturgeon. If anyone has this information, is it possible to post this please? I feel this would be a very good and highly beneficial portion to add to the information already given. Cnj6768 07:21, 23 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] uses?

since this is an article on an animal, wouldn't it make sense for "uses" to be last instead of first? i would think that most people coming to read about sturgeon want to know about how the animal lives, not what people use it for.

I added some more information on the biology and habitat of the sturgeon, and provide some references. I would suggest that the "uses" section be seriously revised/expanded/developed - it seems pretty incoherent and disjointed and repetitive as it is. no? - Best, Eliezg (talk) 11:03, 10 December 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Proposed Merge

The article is rather misleading, as it mainly deals with the genus Acipenser (both text and taxobox), while the name "sturgeon" is used for *all* members of the family Acipenseridae. Either this article should be modifed so it covers the entire family, or the current content should be moved to Acipenser, with sturgeon instead being a redirect to the family. 212.10.84.33 (talk) 13:57, 10 December 2007 (UTC)


As the recent comment above points out, there were contradictions in the article as to what group the term "sturgeon" refers to. I edited the taxobox and the "Species" section to reflect all of the Aceipenserids as opposed to solely the genus Acipenser. I also eliminated the outdated Britannica 1911 taxonomy with great prejudice. Consequently, it seems that this article should be merged with Acipenseridae, since both articles now cover the exact same group of fish. I do not know the formal mechanism for proposing or effectuating a merge - perhaps someone can help? Arguments for this broadening of the term are that (a) the whole family has many of the same basic features associated with "sturgeon"-ness, (b) the "Scaphirhynchinae" are all commonly called sturgeon, (c) and the Beluga and Kaluga are very intimately associated with the main economic reason people are interested in sturgeon and it would be weird to have a general discussion that omits them. Thoughts? -- Eliezg (talk) 21:14, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

Mergers are usually done via cut and paste (as opposed to moves, which should be done via the move function). In this case, I didn't see anything on the Acipenseridae which wasn't already in the Sturgeon article, so I made the former a redirect to the latter. Cheers, -TeaDrinker (talk) 21:35, 10 December 2007 (UTC)
It should be noted that many of the foreign language links (at least Russian, German and French) still refer to genus Acipenser and should technically be changed. Meanwhile, the Portuguese page has cheerily referred to Acipenseridae all these months while the Finnish link appears to describe solelyA. sturio It doesn't particularly bother me, but let it be noted. Best, Eliezg (talk) 08:32, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Popular Culture

I erased the "Sturgeon in popular culture" section for all the standard Wikipedia-frowns-on-trivia and it-doesn't-contribute-to-the-topic reasons. If anyone feels strongly that they should be replaced, I grudgingly present them below. Cheers, Eliezg (talk) 08:18, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

  • In the plot of Gordon Korman's MacDonald Hall books (especially in the third book, Beware the Fish) there are many references to this kind of fish: the headmaster of the school is called Mr. Sturgeon, and is nicknamed The Fish.
  • American funk-rock band Primus mention sturgeons in their songs entitled The Ol' Diamondback Sturgeon (from the album Pork Soda) and Fish On (from the album Sailing the Seas of Cheese). Les Claypool, bass player and frontman of Primus, is an avid fisherman and sings about his father catching a "hundred-pound sturgeon on twenty-pound test" in San Pablo Bay in Northern California. Also a fictionalized account of a fishing trip aimed at catching sturgeon is chronicled in his book South of the Pumphouse.
  • A sturgeon crashes on the Simpsons' car hood in "The Great Money Caper", triggering the events of the episode.
  • In the children's comedy book Captain Underpants, the back of the cover page displays the "Sturgeon General's Warning" that the book contains crude content.
  • A sturgeon is mentioned in "Under the Sea" from the Disney Film "The Little Mermaid"
  • Sturgeons have been cited as possible explanations for film of Loch Ness Monster-esque creatures, as their long length and slow movement could make a close-up shot of a sturgeon swimming past appear to be a very long fish.
  • In Tiny Toons, Babs stands by a "Surgeon's Lounge" where surgeons are taking a break. After putting a "T" to make "Sturgeon's Lounge", the surgeons already became sturgeons and Babs tells the viewer to make sure if they get the joke.

[edit] External Link

I erased [1] the following external link that was added to the article:

It was reinserted, and I removed it again. So it doesn't happen a third time, a discussion is in order. My reasons for removing it are primarily that it is a popular article geared towards sport fishermen on White sturgeon in the lower Columbia river, pivoting on an anecdote about a fisherman getting a heart-attack from from the incredible size of a fish. As such, it does not contribute to the subject of sturgeon writ large, though it might have a place in the white sturgeon article. Also the name was misleading - the white sturgeon is NOT the world's largest. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the sturgeon family and a springboard for access to the species articles, not to be a clearinghouse for all mention of sturgeon in the media.
Support removal. Eliezg (talk) 21:45, 15 January 2008 (UTC)