The Shortnose Sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is anadramous (migrating from salt water to spawn in freshwater) and shares the same general form of all sturgeon, with a body surface displaying five rows of bony plates or scutes. This species is the smallest of the three sturgeon found in eastern North America and has a short, conical snout with four barbels (beard-like appendages) in front of its large under-slung mouth. Body coloration is olive-yellow to gray or bluish on its back, with a milky-white to dark yellow belly. The largest are known to grow to 4.7 ft in length (1.4m), weighing in at 50.7 pounds (23 kg). The fastest growing fish occur among southern populations.

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