Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Sturgeon \Stur"geon\, n. [F. esturgeon, LL. sturio, sturgio,
   OHG. sturjo, G. st["o]r; akin to AS. styria, styriga.]
   (Zo["o]l.)
   Any one of numerous species of large cartilaginous ganoid
   fishes belonging to {Acipenser} and allied genera of the
   family {Acipenserid[ae]}. They run up rivers to spawn, and
   are common on the coasts and in the large rivers and lakes of
   North America, Europe, and Asia. Caviare is prepared from the
   roe, and isinglass from the air bladder.

   Note: The common North American species are {Acipenser
         sturio} of the Atlantic coast region, {A.
         transmontanus} of the Pacific coast, and {A.
         rubicundus} of the Mississippi River and its
         tributaries. In Europe, the common species is
         {Acipenser sturio}, and other well-known species are
         the sterlet and the huso. The sturgeons are included in
         the order Chondrostei. Their body is partially covered
         by five rows of large, carinated, bony plates, of which
         one row runs along the back. The tail is heterocercal.
         The toothless and protrusile mouth is beneath the head,
         and has four barbels in front.

   {Shovel-nosed sturgeon}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Shovelnose}
   (d) .