Shovelnose Sturgeons
Scaphirhynchus
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. As of 2023, the pallid sturgeon (S. albus) and the Alabama sturgeon (S. suttkusi) are critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The genus name Scaphirhynchus from Ancient Greek σκάφη (skáphe), meaning "shovel", and ῥύγχος (rhúnkos), meaning "snout", referring to their flat, shovel-shaped snout.
3 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 3 known species
Shovelnose Sturgeon
speciesScaphirhynchus platorynchus
Pallid Sturgeon
speciesScaphirhynchus albus
Alabama Sturgeon
speciesScaphirhynchus suttkusi
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Scaphirhynchus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 91895.