The History of the White Sturgeon
The white sturgeon's earliest fossil record dates back nearly 200 million years. Its present body shape has been unchanged for 75 million years. With an existence dating back way prior to the existence of man, many wonder and debate why this prehistoric behemoth has been able to avoid extinction or major evolutionary change for over 200 million years, well the answer boils down to a few key components. The most important component in the long lived history of the sturgeon is its ability to live, travel, and hunt in fresh, brackish, and salt water. This ability allowed sturgeon populations to spread throughout North America via every major river and even along the coast using the Pacific Ocean. The second factor which has allowed the sturgeon to survive for so long is its temperature durability, meaning it isn't picky about the water temperature which it operates in. While Sturgeon prefer cool water to warm waters they are still able to hunt and reproduce in warm waters. The durability of the sturgeon and their inherent ability to operate in all water types has given their species a distinct survival advantage which has allowed the species to survive, mostly unaltered, for 200 million years and running.