Spotted gar

Lepisosteus oculatus

FAMILY

Lepisosteidae

TAXONOMY

Lepisosteus oculatus Winchell, 1864, Duch Lake, Calhoun Co., Michigan, United States.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Garpique tachetée; German: Gefleckter Knochenhecht; Spanish: Gaspar pintado.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Maximum total length (known to the author) is 32.9 in (83.5 cm), although reported up to 44 in (112 cm). Has a profusion of dark spots on the body, head, and fins (although these spots are not generally as large and strong as in the Florida gar). Adults have a series of small bony plates on the ventral surface of the isthmus. Females have been reported to have proportionately longer snouts than males.

DISTRIBUTION

Great Lakes south to the gulf coast of Texas, United States, and northern Mexico, east to northwestern Florida, United States. Reported as a fossil from Pleistocene deposits of Texas, but the material is too fragmentary to be reliably included in the species.

HABITAT

Quiet, clear waters with abundant vegetation, also brackish waters along the Gulf of Mexico.

BEHAVIOR

Little is known.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds mainly on fishes, but may also take crabs and crayfishes.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Spawns in shallow freshwater. Like L. osseus, newly hatched larvae have adhesive pad on the head that allows them to adhere to the substrate or objects on the substrate. This organ is lost early in development. Sometimes hybridizes with L. platyrhincus.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Turns up frequently in the pet trade.