Scaphirhynchus
Genus of fishes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scaphirhynchus, from Ancient Greek σκάφη (skáphe), meaning "shovel", and ῥύγχος (rhúnkos), meaning "snout", is a genus of sturgeons native to North America. All species in this genus are considered to be threatened with extinction or worse.[2][3][4] As of 2023, the pallid sturgeon (S. albus)[3] and the Alabama sturgeon (S. suttkusi)[4] are critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
| Scaphirhynchus | |
|---|---|
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| Scaphirhynchus albus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Acipenseriformes |
| Family: | Acipenseridae |
| Genus: | Scaphirhynchus Heckel, 1835 |
| Species | |
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See text | |
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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The genus name Scaphirhynchus from Ancient Greek σκάφη (skáphe), meaning "shovel", and ῥύγχος (rhúnkos), meaning "snout", referring to their flat, shovel-shaped snout.
Distribution
Member species are found in the Mississippi, Missouri, and Alabama Rivers.
Species
Currently, three species in this genus are recognized:[5]
| Image | Species | Common name |
|---|---|---|
.jpg) |
Scaphirhynchus albus
(S. A. Forbes & R. E. Richardson, 1905) |
pallid sturgeon |
_(52572922457).jpg) |
Scaphirhynchus platorynchus
(Rafinesque, 1820) |
shovelnose sturgeon |
 |
Scaphirhynchus suttkusi
J. D. Williams & Clemmer, 1991 |
Alabama sturgeon |
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