Soft-rayed Bony Fishes: Orders Acipenseroidei, Lepisostei, and Isospondyli

Book excerpt: Part Three in the Fishes of the Western North Atlantic series describes the sturgeons and a portion of the many bony fishes that make up the ichthyological fauna of the western North Atlantic from Hudson Bay southward to the easternmost tip of South America.Specialist authorships of its sections include detailed species descriptions with keys, life history and general habits, abundance, range, and relation to human activity, such as economic and sporting importance. The text is written for an audience of amateur and professional ichthyologists, sportsmen, and fishermen, based on new revisions, original research, and critical reviews of existing information. Species are illustrated by exceptional black and white line drawings, accompanied by distribution maps and tables of meristic data.