United States (contiguous states) country information

Common names: Gar, Longnose gar
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: gamefish: yes;
Comments: Type locality: Virginia (Ref. 79012). Found on fresh and brackish tributaries of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland and Virginia; also in Delaware, and New Jersey (Ref. 4639). Also Ref. 276, 10294.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.nmfs.gov
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Page, L.M. and B.M. Burr, 1991
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Lépisosté osseux, Catán aguja, 雀鳝, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Holostei (gars and bowfins) > Lepisosteiformes (Gars) > Lepisosteidae (Gars)
Etymology: Lepisosteus: Greek, lepis = scale + Greek, osteon = bone; bony sacled (Ref. 45335); osseus: From the word osseus, meaning bony (Ref. 10294).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; pH range: 7.0 - 25.0; dH range: 10 - 15; depth range 0 - ? m (Ref. 55225), usually 0 - ? m (Ref. 55225). Subtropical; 12°C - 20°C (Ref. 2060); 48°N - 23°N, 99°W - 69°W (Ref. 55225)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North and Central America: Atlantic Slope from Delaware River in New Jersey to central Florisa; St. Lawrence River in Quebec through Great Lakes and Mississippi River basin to Red River (Hudson Bay basin), North Dakota, and south to Louisiana; Gulf Slope drainages from central Florida to Rio Grande drainage in Texas and Mexico.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 66.9 range ? - 80 cm
Max length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); common length : 17.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12193); max. published weight: 22.8 kg (Ref. 4699); max. reported age: 36 years (Ref. 12193)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 9; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10. Long narrow snout. Olivaceous brown above and white below. Dark spots on median fins and on body (Ref. 37032). Scales ganoid: thin bony scutes on leading edges of unpaired fins, and on both edges of caudal fin (Ref. 4639).

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Adults occur in sluggish pools, backwaters and oxbows of medium to large rivers, and lakes (Ref. 10294). Usually found near vegetation. Occasionally found in brackish waters. Spawning occur in freshwater and possibly slightly brackish water (Ref. 4639). Migrate up rivers during the spawning season (Ref. 4639). Eggs and larvae are demersal and adhesive (Ref. 4639). Voracious predator, feeding on various fishes and crustaceans. The roe is poisonous.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Wiley, Ed | Collaborators

Robins, C.R., R.M. Bailey, C.E. Bond, J.R. Brooker, E.A. Lachner, R.N. Lea and W.B. Scott, 1991. Common and scientific names of fishes from the United States and Canada. Am. Fish. Soc. Spec. Publ. (20):183 p. (Ref. 3814)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 November 2018

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Other

Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums

FAO(Publication : search) | FishSource |

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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5781 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00302 (0.00121 - 0.00751), b=3.18 (2.96 - 3.40), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.2 ±0.73 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=3-6; tmax=36; Fec=1,110).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): High vulnerability (63 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Lepisosteus osseus (Linnaeus, 1758)