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Gar are large, slender, thick-scaled, predatory fish of the family Lepisosteidae, order Semionotiformes, class Actinopterygii. Gars are found in the fresh waters of eastern North America, Central America and Cuba, occasionally in brackish water and, rarely, in the sea. The seven living species are divided into two genera (Lepisosteus and Atractosteus) by some ichthyologists; others consider them all as Lepisosteus. In Canada, two species, the rare spotted gar (L. oculatus) and the more familiar longnose gar (L. osseus), reach their northern limit in the Great Lakes drainage basin.
Description
Gars are characterized by diamond-shaped scales and a long snout with needlelike teeth. The gas-bladder, cellular and richly supplied with blood vessels, acts as a lung, enabling gars to breathe air in stagnant waters. Gars may reach 183 cm in length and 22 years of age.
Diet
They feed principally on other fishes, which they seize by a darting movement from the cover of vegetation. A sideways swipe of the snout impales prey crosswise on their teeth.
Biological Importance
Gar flesh is edible but not attractive. The eggs are poisonous to mammals and birds. The importance of gars as predators of economically important fishes is uncertain, but large gars can destroy gear set for other fishes.
