gar

The name "gar" was originally used for a species of needlefish (Belone belone) found in the North Atlantic and likely took its name from the Old English word for "spear".{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gar|title=Gar|access-date=2007-04-21}} Belone belone is now more commonly referred to as the "garfish" or "gar fish" to avoid confusion with the North American gars of the family Lepisosteidae.{{cite web|url=http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.cfm?ID=47&GenusName=Belone&SpeciesName=belone&StockCode=57|title=Common Names of Belone belone|access-date=2007-04-21 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071019180912/http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.cfm?ID=47&GenusName=Belone&SpeciesName=belone&StockCode=57 |archive-date = 2007-10-19}} Confusingly, the name "garfish" is also commonly used for a number of other species of the related genera Strongylura, Tylosurus, and Xenentodon of the family Belonidae.

The generic name Lepisosteus comes from the Greek lepis (λεπίς) meaning "scale" and osteon (ὀστέον) meaning "bone".{{Cite book |last=Jordan |first=David Starr |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fishes_of_North_and_Middle_America/G8DRAAAAMAAJ? |title=The Fishes of North and Middle America: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Species of Fish-like Vertebrates Found in the Waters of North America, North of the Isthmus of Panama |last2=Evermann |first2=Barton Warren |date=1896 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}} Atractosteus is similarly derived from Greek, in this case from atraktos (ἀτρακτὀς), meaning spindle.

File:HMNS gar.jpg, an Eocene gar from the Messel of Germany]]

File:MasillosteusJaneae.jpg, an Eocene gar from Fossil Butte, Wyoming]]

Gars are considered to be the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, a group of bony fish that flourished in the Mesozoic. The oldest known ginglymodians appeared during the Middle Triassic, over 240 million years ago.{{Cite journal|last=Romano|first=Carlo|date=2021|title=A Hiatus Obscures the Early Evolution of Modern Lineages of Bony Fishes|journal=Frontiers in Earth Science|volume=8|pages=672|doi=10.3389/feart.2020.618853|issn=2296-6463|doi-access=free}} Because they have the slowest known rate of molecular evolution among all jawed vertebrates, it has also slowed down their rate of speciation.[https://academic.oup.com/evolut/advance-article/doi/10.1093/evolut/qpae028/7615529?searchresult=1&login=false The genomic signatures of evolutionary stasis] The closest living relatives of gars are the bowfin, with the gars and bowfin together forming the clade Holostei; both lineages diverged during the Late Permian.{{Cite journal |last1=López-Arbarello |first1=Adriana |last2=Sferco |first2=Emilia |date=March 2018 |title=Neopterygian phylogeny: the merger assay |journal=Royal Society Open Science |language=en |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=172337 |doi=10.1098/rsos.172337 |issn=2054-5703 |pmc=5882744 |pmid=29657820|bibcode=2018RSOS....572337L }}

The closest extinct relatives of gar are the Obaichthyidae, an extinct group of gar-like fishes from the Early Cretaceous of Africa and South America, which likely diverged from the ancestors of true gars during the Late Jurassic. The oldest anatomically modern gar is Nhanulepisosteus from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Mexico, around 157 million years old. Nhanulepisosteus inhabited a marine environment unlike modern gars, indicating that gars may have originally been marine fish prior to invading freshwater habitats before the Early Cretaceous.{{Cite journal|author1=Paulo M. Brito|author2=Jésus Alvarado-Ortega|author3=François J. Meunier|year=2017|title=Earliest known lepisosteoid extends the range of anatomically modern gars to the Late Jurassic|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=7|issue=1|pages=Article number 17830|bibcode=2017NatSR...717830B|doi=10.1038/s41598-017-17984-w|pmc=5736718|pmid=29259200}}{{Cite journal |last1=Brownstein |first1=Chase Doran |last2=Yang |first2=Liandong |last3=Friedman |first3=Matt |last4=Near |first4=Thomas J. |date=20 December 2022 |title=Phylogenomics of the Ancient and Species-Depauperate Gars Tracks 150 Million Years of Continental Fragmentation in the Northern Hemisphere |url=https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article-abstract/72/1/213/6946847 |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=213–227 |doi=10.1093/sysbio/syac080 |pmid=36537110 |access-date=2023-06-05 |via= }} Although most succeeding gar fossils are known from freshwater environments, at least some marine gars are known to have persisted into the Late Cretaceous, with the likely marine Herreraichthys known from Mexico and the definitely marine Grandemarinus known from Morocco.{{Cite journal |last1=Alvarado-Ortega |first1=Jesús |last2=Brito |first2=Paulo M. |last3=Porras-Múzquiz |first3=Héctor Gerardo |last4=Mújica-Monroy |first4=Irene Heidi |date=2016-01-01 |title=A Late Cretaceous marine long snout "pejelagarto" fish (Lepisosteidae, Lepisosteini) from Múzquiz, Coahuila, northeastern Mexico |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019566711530032X |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=57 |pages=19–28 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2015.07.009 |bibcode=2016CrRes..57...19A |issn=0195-6671|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=S. L. A. |last2=Gunn |first2=J. |last3=Brito |first3=P. M. |last4=Zouhri |first4=S. |last5=Martill |first5=D. M. |date=2023 |title=A new fully marine, short-snouted lepisosteid gar from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of North Africa |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=151 |pages=105650 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105650 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023CrRes.15105650C }}

Gars diversified in western North America throughout the Early Cretaceous. Atractosteus and Lepisosteus had already diverged by the end of the Early Cretaceous, about 105 million years ago. From western North America, gars dispersed to regions as disparate as Africa, India, South America and Europe, and fossil remains of gars were widespread worldwide by the end of the Cretaceous.

Several different gar genera survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, although they remained restricted to North America and Europe after this point. One species (Atractosteus grandei, a relative of the modern alligator gar) is the oldest known articulated vertebrate specimen of the Cenozoic, with one fossil specimen dated to just a few thousand years after the Chicxulub impact, indicating a rapid recovery of freshwater ecosystems. Two short-snouted gar genera, Masillosteus and Cuneatus, are known from the Eocene in western North America and Europe, but disappear shortly afterwards. Lepisosteus and Atractosteus show a similar initial distribution and eventual contraction, but both genera dispersed to eastern North America prior to their disappearance from western North America and Europe, with Atractosteus also dispersing further south to the Neotropics. Eastern North America has since served as a vital refugium for gars, with Lepisosteus undergoing a diversification throughout it.

The following phylogeny of extant and fossil gar genera was found by Brownstein et al. (2022):

{{clade|{{clade

|1=†Obaichthyidae

|label2=Lepisosteidae

|2={{clade

|1=†Nhanulepisosteus

|2={{clade

|label1=†Cuneatini

|1={{clade

|1=†Masillosteus

|2=†Cuneatus

}}

|label2=Lepisosteini

|2={{clade

|1=†Herreraichthys

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Atractosteus 80 px

|2=†Oniichthys ("Atractosteus" falipoui)

}}

|2=Lepisosteus 80 px

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}|style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%|label1=Lepisosteoidea}}

A slightly different phylogeny was found by Cooper et al (2023):

{{clade|{{clade

|1=†Obaichthyidae

|label2=Lepisosteidae

|2={{clade

|1=†Nhanulepisosteus

|2={{clade

|label1=Masillosteinae

|1=†Masillosteus

|label2=Lepisosteinae

|2={{clade

|1=†Cuneatus

|2={{clade

|1=†Grandemarinus

|label2=Lepisosteini

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=Atractosteus 80 px

|2=†Oniichthys

}}

|2=Lepisosteus 80 px

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}|style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%|label1=Lepisosteoidea}}

File:Opacity map of Lepisosteiformes.svg

Fossils indicate that gars formerly had a wider distribution, having been found on every continent except Australia and Antarctica. Living gars are confined to North America. The distribution of the gars in North America lies mainly in the shallow, brackish waters off of Texas, Louisiana, and the eastern coast of Mexico, as well as in some of the rivers and lakes that flow into them.{{Cite web|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fish/discover/species-profiles/atractosteus-spatula|title=Atractosteus spatula :: Florida Museum of Natural History|website=www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu|language=en|access-date=2018-05-11|date=2017-05-10}}{{Cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Lepisosteus_oculatus.html|title=Lepisosteus oculatus (Spotted gar)|website=Animal Diversity Web|language=en|access-date=2018-05-11}} A few populations are also present in the Great Lakes region of the United States, living in similar shallow waters.{{Cite web|url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=756|title=Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) - Species Profile|website=nas.er.usgs.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-05-11}}

Image:Gar shedd.jpg

Gar bodies are elongated, heavily armored with ganoid scales, and fronted by similarly elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth. Their tails are heterocercal, and the dorsal fins are close to the tail.{{cite book |editor=Paxton, J.R. |editor2=Eschmeyer, W.N.|author= Wiley, Edward G.|year=1998|title=Encyclopedia of Fishes|publisher= Academic Press|location=San Diego|pages= 78–79|isbn= 0-12-547665-5}}

As their vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs, most gars surface periodically to take a gulp of air, doing so more frequently in stagnant or warm water when the concentration of oxygen in the water is low. Experiments on the swim bladder has shown that the temperature of the water affects which respiration method the gar will use—aerial or aquatic. They increase the aerial breathing rate (breathing air) as the temperature of the water is increased. Gars can live completely submerged in oxygenated water without access to air and remain healthy while also being able to survive in deoxygenated water if allowed access to air.{{cite journal|last1=Renfro|first1=Larry|last2=Hill|first2=Loren|title=Factors Influencing the Aerial Breathing and Metabolism of Gars (Lepisosteus)|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|date=1970|volume=15|issue=1|pages=45–54|jstor=3670201|doi=10.2307/3670201}} This adaptation can be the result of environmental pressures and behavioral factors.{{cite journal|last1=Hill|first1=Loren|title=Social Aspects of Aerial Respiration of Young Gars (Lepisosteus)|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|date=1972|volume=16|issue=3|pages=239–247|jstor=3670060|doi=10.2307/3670060}} As a result of this organ, they are extremely resilient and able to tolerate conditions that most other fish could not survive.

File:Lepisosteidae Pectoral Girdle.jpg

The gar has paired pectoral fins and pelvic fins, as well as an anal fin, a caudal fin, and a dorsal fin.{{cite journal|last1=Becker|first1=George|title=Fishes of Wisconsin|date=1983|pages=239–248|url=http://images.library.wisc.edu/EcoNatRes/EFacs/FishesWI/reference/econatres.fisheswi.i0019.pdf}} The bone structures within the fins are important to study as they can show homology throughout the fossil record. Specifically, the pelvic girdle resembles that of other actinopterygians while still having some of its own characteristics. Gars have a postcleithrum—which is a bone that is lateral to the scapula, but do not have postpectorals. Proximally to the postcleithrum, the supracleithrum is important as it plays a critical role in opening the gar's jaws. This structure has a unique internal coracoid lamina only present in the gar species. Near the supracleithrum is the posttemporal bone, which is significantly smaller than other actinopterygians. Gars also have no clavicle bone, although elongated plates have been observed within the area.{{cite journal|last1=Malcolm|first1=Jollie|title=Development of Cranial and Pectoral Girdle Bones of Lepisosteus with a Note on Scales|jstor=1445204|journal=Copeia|volume=1984|issue=2|pages=476–502|publisher=American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH)|year=1984|doi=10.2307/1445204}}

File:Lepisosteus platostomus - fins.jpg

All the gars are relatively large fish, but the alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) is the largest. The largest alligator gar ever caught and officially recorded was {{Convert|8|ft|5|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long, weighed {{Convert|327|lb|abbr=on}}, and was {{Convert|47|in|cm|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} around the girth.{{cite web|url=http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/alg/ | title=Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula) | publisher=Texas Parks & Wildlife Department | access-date=March 8, 2016}} Even the smaller species, such as Lepisosteus oculatus, are large, commonly reaching lengths of over {{convert|60|cm|ft|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}, and sometimes much longer.Kodera H. et al.: Jurassic Fishes. TFH, 1994, {{ISBN|0-7938-0086-2}}{{page needed|date=June 2015}}

Gars tend to be slow-moving fish except when striking at their prey. They prefer the shallow and weedy areas of rivers, lakes, and bayous, often congregating in small groups. They are voracious predators, catching their prey in their needle-like teeth with a sideways strike of the head. They feed extensively on smaller fish and invertebrates such as crabs. Gars are found across much of the eastern portion of North America. Although gars are found primarily in freshwater habitats, several species enter brackish waters and a few, most notably Atractosteus tristoechus, are sometimes found in the sea. Some gars travel from lakes and rivers through sewers to get to ponds.Monks N. (editor): Brackish Water Fishes, pp 322–324. TFH 2006, {{ISBN|0-7938-0564-3}}

The gar family contains seven extant species, in two genera. This list also includes definitively known fossil taxa, common names for which are based on Grande (2010):{{FishBase family|family=Lepisosteidae|year=2009|month=January}}{{Cite journal |last=Grande |first=Lance |date=2010 |title=An Empirical Synthetic Pattern Study of Gars (lepisosteiformes) and Closely Related Species, Based Mostly on Skeletal Anatomy. the Resurrection of Holostei |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20787269 |journal=Copeia |volume=2010 |issue=2A |pages=iii–871 |issn=0045-8511}}

{{cladogram

|title=Cladogram of living garsJeremy J. Wright, Solomon R. David, Thomas J. Near: Gene trees, species trees, and morphology converge on a similar phylogeny of living gars (Actinopterygii: Holostei: Lepisosteidae), an ancient clade of ray-finned fishes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 63 (2012) 848–856 [http://www.yale.edu/eeb/near/73_Wright_et_al2012.pdf PDF]

|{{clade|style=font-size:80%;line-height:100%;width:300px;

|label1=Lepisosteidae

|1={{clade

|label1=Atractosteus

|1={{clade

|1=A. tropicus

|2={{clade

|1=A. tristoechus

|2=A. spatula 50 px

}}

}}

|label2=Lepisosteus

|2={{clade

|1={{clade

|1=L. oculatus

|2=L. platyrhincus

}}

|2={{clade

|1=L. osseus 50 px

|2=L. platostomus 50 px

}}

}}

}}

}}

}}

Family Lepisosteidae

• Genus †Nhanulepisosteus Brito, Alvarado-Ortega & Meunier, 2017
• Genus †Britosteus Martinelli et al 2025
• Genus †Masillosteus Micklich & Kappert, 2001
• Genus †Cuneatus Grande, 2010 (cuneatus gar)
• Tribe Lepisosteini
• Genus †Herreraichthys Alvarado-Ortega et al 2016
• Genus †Grandemarinus Cooper et al 2023
• Genus †Oniichthys Cavin & Brito, 2001
• Genus Atractosteus Rafinesque, 1820
• †Atractosteus atrox (Leidy, 1873) (Green River atrox gar)
• †Atractosteus grandei Brownstein & Lyson, 2022{{Cite journal |last=Brownstein |first=Chase Doran |last2=Lyson |first2=Tyler R. |year=2022 |title=Giant gar from directly above the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary suggests healthy freshwater ecosystems existed within thousands of years of the asteroid impact |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0118 |journal=Biology Letters |volume=18 |issue=6 |pages=20220118 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2022.0118 |pmc=9198771 |pmid=35702983}}
• †Atractosteus messelensis Grande, 2010
• †Atractosteus simplex (Leidy, 1873) (simplex gar)
• Atractosteus spatula (Lacépède, 1803) (alligator gar)
• Atractosteus tristoechus (Bloch & J. G. Schneider, 1801) (Cuban gar)
• Atractosteus tropicus Gill, 1863 (tropical gar)
• Genus Lepisosteus Linnaeus, 1758
• †Lepisosteus bemisi Grande, 2010 (Green River longnose gar)
• †Lepisosteus indicus (Woodward, 1890) (Indian gar)
• Lepisosteus oculatus Winchell, 1864 (spotted gar)
• Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus, 1758) (longnose gar)
• Lepisosteus platostomus Rafinesque, 1820 (shortnose gar)
• Lepisosteus platyrhincus DeKay, 1842 (Florida gar)

{{Main|Alligator gar}}

File:Alligator_Gar_10.JPG

The largest member of the gar family, the alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula), can reach over {{Convert|8|ft|}} (although 10-foot individuals are possible, and likely exist) and weigh over {{Convert|300|lb|}}.{{Cite web|url=https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/management/alligator-gar/identify-gar.phtml|title=How to Identify Alligator Gar|website=tpwd.texas.gov|access-date=2019-07-20}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.fishbase.us/summary/Atractosteus-spatula.html|title=Atractosteus spatula summary page|website=FishBase|language=en|access-date=2019-07-26}} Its body and snout are wide and stocky, and it was named "alligator gar" because locals often mistook it for an alligator.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/alligator-gar/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003162418/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/alligator-gar/|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 3, 2018|title=Alligator Gars, Alligator Gar Pictures, Alligator Gar Facts|date=2009-12-15|website=National Geographic|access-date=2019-07-24}} The species can be found in Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, the Mississippi River, Ohio, the Missouri river, and the southern drainages into Mexico. Its habitat consists of lakes and bays with slow currents. The gars grow rapidly when young and continue to grow at a slower rate after reaching adulthood.{{Cite web|url=https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/alg/|title=Alligator Gar (Atractosteus spatula)|website=tpwd.texas.gov|access-date=2019-07-26}} They are deep green or yellow in color. Recreational fishing of the alligator gar became popular due to its massive size and its meat is sold for food.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/warmsprings/FishHatchery/species/alligatorgar.html|title=Alligator Gar|website=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service}} Over five decades of overfishing have brought it close to extinction, and man-made dams have contributed to this loss by restricting the gar's access to the flood plain areas in which it spawns. Some U.S. states have enacted laws to combat overfishing, and reintroduction programs are being carried out in some states, such as Illinois, where human activity has extirpated the gar. Before being released, each gar must meet a length requirement to ensure that it has the best chance of survival in the wild.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ifishillinois.org/programs/alligatorgar_news.html|title=Fishing in Illinois|website=www.ifishillinois.org|access-date=2019-08-03}} Some states, such as Texas, restrict the number of gar that may be caught in a day, the season in which they may be caught, and the equipment anglers may use to catch them. Some states also impose a minimum length requirement to prevent gar from being caught at too early an age.{{Cite web|url=https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/management/alligator-gar/sustain.phtml|title=Who Fishes for Alligator Gar?|website=tpwd.texas.gov|access-date=2019-08-03}} Scientists have found that the alligator gar can help maintain ecosystem balance by eating invasive species such as the Asian carp, and their success in a particular area can show scientists that area may also make a suitable habitat for other migratory species.

{{Main|Florida gar}}

Image:Kaimanfische (Lepisosteus).jpg

The Florida gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) can be found in the Ocklockonee river, Florida, and Georgia,{{Cite web|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/lepisosteus-platyrhincus/|title=Lepisosteus platyrhincus|date=2017-05-10|website=Florida Museum|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-24}}{{Cite web|url=http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/freshwater/florida-gar/|title=Florida Gar|website=Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03|archive-date=2019-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803173723/https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/freshwater/florida-gar/|url-status=dead}} and prefers muddy or sandy bottoms with bountiful vegetation.{{Cite web|url=https://www.fishbase.in/Summary/FamilySummary.php?Family=Lepisosteidae|title=FAMILY Details for Lepisosteidae - Gars|website=www.fishbase.in|access-date=2019-07-26}} It is commonly confused with its cousin, the spotted gar. Uneven black spots cover its head, body, and fins. Green-brown scales run along the back of its body, and the scales on its underbelly are white or yellow.{{Cite web|url=http://www.torontozoo.com/explorethezoo/AnimalDetails.asp?pg=468|title=Toronto Zoo {{!}} Florida gar|website=www.torontozoo.com|access-date=2019-08-03}} This coloration, which blends well with the gar's surroundings, allows it to ambush its prey. The Florida gar has no ganoid scales on its throat. Female Florida gars grow to lengths between {{Convert|13 and 34|in|cm}}, bigger than their male counterparts.

{{Main|Spotted gar}}

File:Lepisosteus_oculatus_03.jpg

The spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) is a smaller species of gar, measuring just under four feet long and weighing 15 pounds on average. Like Florida gars, female spotted gars are typically larger than male spotted gars.{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lepisosteus_oculatus/|title=Lepisosteus oculatus (Spotted gar)|last=Givinsky|first=Lana Hall; Thomas Meade; Drew Paulette; Josh Albert; Stephanie|website=Animal Diversity Web|language=en|access-date=2019-07-24}} This gar has dark spots covering its head, body, and fins. Its body is compact, and it has a shorter snout. It prefers to live in clearer shallow water with a depth of {{Convert|3-5|m||sp=us|sigfig=2}},{{Cite web|url=https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2016/08/08/conservation-of-ancient-fishes-reintroducing-the-alligator-gar-and-what-about-those-carp/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108032139/https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2016/08/08/conservation-of-ancient-fishes-reintroducing-the-alligator-gar-and-what-about-those-carp/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 8, 2018|title=Conservation of Ancient Fishes: Reintroducing the Alligator Gar; and What About Those Carp?|date=2016-08-08|website=National Geographic Society Newsroom|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-03}} and to surround itself in foliage. Its habitat ranges from the waters of Lake Michigan, the Lake Erie Basin, the Mississippi River System, and river drainages along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico from the Nueces River in Texas east to the lower Apalachicola River in Florida.{{Cite web|url=https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=756|title=Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) - Species Profile|website=nas.er.usgs.gov|access-date=2019-07-26}} It shares its habitat with the alligator gar, its main predator. These smaller gar live an average of 18 years.

{{Main|Shortnose gar}}

File:Shortnose gar (8741579406).jpg

The shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) is found in the Mississippi River Basin, Indiana, Wisconsin, Montana, Alabama, and Louisiana.{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lepisosteus_platostomus/|title=Lepisosteus platostomus (Shortnose gar)|last=Bradburn|first=Mark|website=Animal Diversity Web|language=en|access-date=2019-07-24}} It prefers to live in lakes, swamps, and calm pools. The shortnose gar takes its name from its snout, which is shorter and broader than that of other gar species. Like the longnose gar, it has one row of teeth. The upper jaw is longer than the rest of its head. The shortnose gar is deep green or brown in color, similar to the alligator gar. Depending on the clarity of water, spots can be present on the caudal, dorsal, and anal fins. The shortnose gar has a lifespan of 20 years, reaches up to {{Convert|5|lb|}} in weight,{{Cite web|url=https://www.fishbase.us/summary/Lepisosteus-platostomus.html|title=Lepisosteus platostomus summary page|website=FishBase|language=en|access-date=2019-07-24}} and grows to lengths of {{Convert|24-35|in|cm}}. It consumes more invertebrates than any other gar, and their stomachs have been found to contain higher Asian carp content than any other native North American fish.

{{Main|Longnose gar}}

File:Longnose_gar_-_panoramio.jpg

The Longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) has a longer, narrower, more cylindrical body,{{Cite web|url=https://www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/longnose_gar|title=Longnose Gar {{!}} Chesapeake Bay Program|website=www.chesapeakebay.net|language=en|access-date=2019-07-26|archive-date=2022-03-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323115647/https://www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/longnose_gar|url-status=dead}} and can be distinguished from other species of gar by its snout, which is more than twice the length of the rest of its head.{{Cite web|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/lepisosteus-osseus/|title=Lepisosteus osseus|date=2017-05-10|website=Florida Museum|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-24}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/85750.html|title=Gar - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation|website=www.dec.ny.gov|access-date=2019-08-03|archive-date=2019-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803173715/https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/85750.html|url-status=dead}} It can reach up to 6 feet and 8 inches in length and weigh up to {{Convert|35-80|lb|}}. Like the shortnose gar, it has only a single row of teeth. Unlike its relatives, it enters brackish water from time to time. Females are larger and live longer than the male longnose gar. Females live 22 years, and males about half as long. There are spots on the head, dorsal, anal, and caudal fins.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aqua.org/Experience/Animal-Index/longnose-gar|title=National Aquarium {{!}} Longnose Gar|website=National Aquarium|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03|archive-date=2019-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190803173715/https://www.aqua.org/Experience/Animal-Index/longnose-gar|url-status=dead}} Depending on the water clarity, the longnose gar comes in two colors. In clear water, they are a dark deep green color. In muddy waters, it is more brown in color. Edges of the ganoid scales and in between are black. These types of gar are occasionally fished by locals, and blamed for eating other fish in the rivers. The longnose gar has a large range of territory in North America, into the Gulf of Mexico. Located in Florida, Quebec, all Great Lakes except Lake Superior, Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, and northern Mexico.{{Cite web|url=https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/longnose-gar|title=Longnose Gar|website=MDC Discover Nature|language=en|access-date=2019-08-03}}

The flesh of gar is edible, but its eggs contain an ichthyotoxin, a type of protein toxin which is highly toxic to humans.{{Cite journal|last1=Ostrand|first1=Kenneth G.|last2=Thies|first2=Monte L.|last3=Hall|first3=Darrell D.|last4=Carpenter|first4=Mark|date=1996|title=Gar ichthyootoxin: Its effect on natural predators and the toxin's evolutionary function|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|volume=41|issue=4|pages=375–377|jstor=30055193}}{{cite web|title=Gar|publisher=Environment.nationalgeographic.com|url=http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/gar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109142946/http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/gar/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 9, 2011|access-date=29 May 2011}} The protein can be denatured when brought to a temperature of 120 degrees Celsius,{{Cite journal|last1=Fuhrman|first1=Frederick A.|last2=Fuhrman|first2=Geraldine J.|last3=Dull|first3=David L.|last4=Mosher|first4=Harry S.|date=1969-05-01|title=Toxins from eggs of fishes and amphibia|journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry|volume=17|issue=3|pages=417–424|doi=10.1021/jf60163a043|issn=0021-8561}} but as the roe's temperature does not typically reach that level when it is cooked, even cooked roe causes severe symptoms. It was once thought that the production of the toxin in gar roe was an evolutionary adaptation to provide protection for the eggs, but bluegills and channel catfish fed gar eggs in experiments remained healthy, even though they are the natural predators of the gar eggs. Crayfish fed the roe were not immune to the toxin, and most died. The roe's toxicities to humans and crayfish may be coincidences, however, and not the result of explicit natural selection.

Image:Gar jumping out of water to eat horsefly.jpg

Several species are traded as aquarium fish. The hard ganoid scales of gars are sometimes used to make jewelry whereas the tough skin is used to make such items as lamp shades. Historically, Native Americans used gar scales as arrowheads, native Caribbeans used the skin for breastplates, and early American pioneers covered the blades of their plows with gar skin.{{cite book|last=Burton|first=Maurice|title=The international wildlife encyclopedia, Volume 9|year=2002|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7266-7|page=929|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P0_AD0v7vl0C&pg=PA929|author2=Robert Burton|access-date=18 July 2010}} It is suspected that gars have an unusually strong DNA repair apparatus. If confirmed by further studies, it could be used in medical treatments against human diseases like cancer.[https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/ancient-fish-boast-slowest-molecular-evolution-among-jawed-vertebrates-384454 Ancient Fish Boast Slowest Molecular Evolution Among Jawed Vertebrates]

Not much is known about the precise function of the gar in Native American religion and culture other than the ritual "garfish dances" that have been performed by Creek and Chickasaw tribes.{{cite book|last=Spitzer|first=Mark|title=Season of the Gar: Adventures in Pursuit of America's Most Misunderstood Fish|year=2010|publisher=U of Arkansas P|isbn=978-1-55728-929-2|pages=118–19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yepqz2i3Iv4C&pg=PA119}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/FamilySummary.cfm?ID=34 Family Lepisosteidae]

{{Actinopterygii}}

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q506144|from2=Q13605369}}

Category:Lepisosteidae

Category:Fish of Central America

Category:Fish of North America

Category:Extant Late Jurassic first appearances

Category:Taxa named by Georges Cuvier

Category:Freshwater fish