The lake sturgeon, an ancient whisker-snouted fish from the Cretaceous period, is tied to present-day conservation efforts on the Mississippi River at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam in West Alton, Missouri.
Despite their name, lake sturgeon, also known as “rubbernose or rock” sturgeon, are found in rivers and lakes. Evolving 150 million years ago, long before the evolution of the T-Rex and the other dinosaurs, they have scale-less skin and diamond-shaped plates along their back. Mature lake sturgeon live up to their unique legacy by reaching eight feet in length, weighing more than 200 pounds, and living over 100 years, making them extraordinarily impressive fish. These giants of the fish world are sustained from a diet of snails, crayfish, mussels, and aquatic insects found with barbel sensors and their suction-like toothless mouths.