Home >> Science & Nature >> Nature

Types of Gar Fish

The gars are freshwater fish that sometimes venture into brackish saltwater locations but for the most part confine themselves to the rivers, lakes, marshes and bayous of their home range. Of the seven species in the world, five types of gar occur in North America, with the fish found in central and eastern sections. Gar are capable predators, featuring an elongated snout full of sharp teeth which they employ to slash and disable their prey.

Spotted Gar
- The spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) lives from the lower Great Lakes southward to the Gulf of Mexico and as far west as central Texas. Spotted gar have the cylindrical-shaped snout resembling a sword and thick scales typical of all gar, but round spots develop on the head, upper body and fins. Spotted gar sometimes approach 48 inches in length. They prefer to inhabit clear pools full of aquatic plants, basking in sunshine and pursuing their favorite prey -- crustaceans and fish.
Florida Gar
- The canals, lakes, rivers and streams of Georgia and Florida are home to the Florida gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus). Florida gars closely resemble spotted gar, but they lack any bony plate-like structures on their throats. Florida gar dine on zooplankton, aquatic bugs and smaller fish species when young before graduating to a menu of fish and some crustaceans as an adult. It uses the technique all gar use, approaching a fish and wielding its sharp teeth sideways to injure it before grabbing it headfirst and swallowing it. Florida gars usually grow between 13 and 34 inches long.
Longnose Gar
- Longnose gar (Lepisosteus oceus) grows to 6 feet, living in creeks, reservoirs and lakes from as far north as New Jersey and Pennsylvania southward to coastal Texas and Florida and west into the eastern Great Plains. The longnose gar features a white belly but a gray to olive-green back and body. The young grow rapidly, with some being 24 inches after one year. Longnose gar can live to be 20 years old.
Shortnose Gar
- The shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) possesses a shorter snout than other North America gars, with a range from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico. Shortnose gars have spots, but only on the rear portion of their bodies. Growing on the average between 16 and 25 inches long, a large shortnose gar weighs about 5 lbs. Shortnose gar subsist on crayfish and small fish, including gizzard shad and other minnows.
Alligator Gar
- Few freshwater fish exceed the alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) in size. Some specimens weigh as much as 300 lbs. and reach lengths of 10 feet. Alligator gar live from the Ohio River Valley south to Texas, showing an ability to exist without problems in saltwater estuaries and bays, as well as rivers, bayous and lakes. They are capable of eating turtles and waterfowl in addition to fish. Their eggs are toxic to humans. Dams and dikes that eliminated preferred breeding grounds for this species caused a decline in their population, notes National Geographic.

Nature