Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What do sturgeons eat on the bottoms of rivers and seas?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
chondrostean
Russian sturgeon (Acipenser gueldenstaedtii) swimming along the seafloor of the Black Sea.
Sturgeons are bottom-feeding fish that forage along the beds of rivers and seas in search of food. To locate their prey, they utilize four sensitive, tactile barbels located near their mouths, which they drag across the bottom. These barbels are equipped with taste buds that, along with their sense of touch, help the fish identify and select food before ingestion.1234
Their diet primarily consists of:
* Small invertebrates12
* Small fishes12
* Other organic food sources found on the bottom1
Because sturgeons have a subterminal, toothless mouth, they are well-adapted for this specialized method of bottom feeding.31