🐟Alligator gar
The alligator gar is a euryhaline ray-finned fish in the clade Ginglymodi of the infraclass Holostei, being most closely related to the bowfins. It is the largest species in the gar family (Lepisosteidae), and is among the largest freshwater fishes in North America. The fossil record traces its group's existence back to the Early Cretaceous over 100 million years ago. Gars are often referred to as "primitive fishes" or "living fossils", because they have retained some morphological characteristics of their early ancestors, such as a spiral valve intestine, which is also common to the digestive system of sharks, and the ability to breathe in both air and water. Their common name was derived from their resemblance to the American alligator, particularly their broad snouts and long, sharp teeth. It is suggested that an alligator gar can grow up to 10 ft (3.0 m) in length.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2019.
- Body mass
- 137 kg
- Body length
- 2 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- not recorded
Everything we know about the Alligator gar
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass137 kgmaximum recordedFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Body length2 mrecord 3.05 m · FishBasetypical adultFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Record: largest individual on record
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Trophic level4.02FishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04, estimate table · CC BY-NC 4.0
DietcarnivoreaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
From trophic level 4.02 (FishBase): <2.2 herbivore, 2.2–2.8 omnivore, >2.8 carnivore.
Danger to humansharmlessFishBaseDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: FishBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0
Volume l137 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Alligator gar yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›orderLepisosteiformes
- ›familyLepisosteidae
- ›genusAtractosteus
- ›speciesAtractosteus spatula
- superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
- orderSemionotiformes
- familyLepisosteidae
- genusAtractosteus
All 11 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassRay-finned fish · Actinopterygii
- classActinopteri
- subclassNeopterygii
- orderSemionotiformes
- familyLepisosteidae
- genusAtractosteus
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