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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
gar |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Osteichthyes |
| ORDER: |
Lepisosteiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Lepisosteidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Lepisosteus
spp. |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
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. |
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| SIZE: |
Ranges
from 0.76-4 m (2.5-13 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 lb.). |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
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| MALE |
Rarely
live past 12 years |
| FEMALE |
May
live up to 22 years |
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| 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). |
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| HABITAT: |
Warm
freshwater rivers and streams; occasionally found
in brackish or stagnant water |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
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. |
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| 2. |
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.
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| 3. |
For
more information about bony fishes, explore the
bony
fishes info book. |
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