Gars are distinctive fish with long cylindrical-shaped bodies and heads with elongated jaws and needle-like teeth. Bony plates known as ganoid scales cover their bodies.
Size
Ranges from 0.76 to 4 m (2.5 to 13 ft); depends on species. The alligator gar is one of the largest of all freshwater fishes, with one measuring 3 m (10 ft) long and weighing 127 kg (279 lbs.).
Diet
They feed on live and dead fish but may also consume crustaceans, insects, and frogs. Adults stalk their prey or lie in wait for prey to pass.
Incubation
Oviparous (egg layers). Longnose gar eggs hatch in 6–8 days.
Spawn Size: Unlike most gars that spawn in the spring, the longnose gar spawns in the winter months. Up to 27,000 sticky eggs may be deposited on vegetation by the females. These eggs are toxic to humans and animals if consumed.
Planktonic Duration: The longnose gar larvae, with yolk sac still attached, moor themselves to the vegetation with an adhesive organ at the tip of their snout. They remain moored until their egg yolk is absorbed.
Life Span
Male: Rarely live past 12 years
Famale: May live up to 22 years
Range
Gars are found in Central and North America as well as the West Indies. Out of the 7 species of gars, 4 species are found in Florida including the alligator gar (Lepisosteus spatula), spotted gar (L. oculatus), longnose gar (L. osseus), and Florida gar (L. platyrhincus).
Habitat
Warm freshwater rivers and streams; occasionally found in brackish or stagnant water
Population
Global: No data
Status
IUCN: Not listed
CITES: Not listed
USFWS: Not listed
Fun Facts
This ancient family of fish has several primitive features, such as a skeletal system that contains a great deal of cartilage instead of bone. Also, their vertebrae are opisthocoelous (anterior convex, posterior concave), which is a characteristic seen in reptiles. This type of vertebrae is found in no other fish species except those in the Semionotiformes order. Finally, gars have a swim bladder connected to their esophagus, which acts like a lung. This allows gars to breathe air in stagnant waters with little oxygen.
The rare ganoid scales of the alligator gar are so hard that humans have used them for breastplate armor, arrowheads, luggage, and even to cover the blades of wooden ploughs.
