Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Since shortnose gar and other gar species compete with popular gamefishes, they are regarded as a nuisance to many sport fishermen. There are some gar fishing enthusiasts, but their popularity as a sport fish is low. Their perceived lack of value has prompted many actions to eliminate them from some aquatic areas. A related species, the alligator gar Atractosteus spatula, is under intense pressure in some parts of the southern United States (Eddy, 1974).
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
Shortnose gars may be smaller than 9-10 mm long when they hatch. Although capable of swimming, they use an adhesive structure to hang vertically by their snout from objects in the water, and they will commonly attach to surface film. After exhausting the yolk sac, the fry become more active and assume a horizontal attitude. The fry usually remain near area of egg deposition (Echelle and Riggs, 1972).
Fishermen have an aversion to the shortnose gar because of their competitive predatory habits and lack of value as a sport fish. Often fishermen attempt to capture them for purposes of removal. Fortunately for the shortnose gar, their slender shape and behavior make them difficult to capture in siene nets (Eddy, 1974).
The shortnose gar are predators that can occupy the role of a scavenger, but often competes for food with common gamefishes like the northern pike, walleyes, and bass. However, they often thrive in waters not suitable for game fishes (Eddy, 1974).
Young of the year gars consume a variety of food items, ranging from tiny crustaceans to different life stages of insects and fish. The diet of young gars suggests that most feeding is surface oriented. Adult and young of the year gars feed more actively at night than during the day (Echelle and Riggs, 1972).
Hunting activity of gars can be described as stalking rather than active pursuit. Gars are typically opportunist, consuming the most available food. Shortnose gar consume more invertebrates than any other species of gar (Vokoun, 2000).
Gars are efficient ambush predators (Moyle and Cech, 1988). With its long jaws, gars lie in ambush and catch fish with a sideways strike (Bone, 1999).
Animal Foods: fish; insects; zooplankton
Primary Diet: carnivore (Piscivore , Insectivore , Eats non-insect arthropods)
The shortnosed gar is found in Mississippi River basin from south central Ohio, northern Indiana and Wisconsin to Montana and south to Alabama and Louisiana (Page and Burr, 1991). The species is also found in Lake Michigan drainage in Wisconsin. Shortnose gar presumably dispersed into Wisconsin from the Mississippi river via the Wisconsin and Fox rivers (Priegel, 1963).
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Habitat of the shortnosed gar includes lakes, swamps, and the calm pools and backwaters of creeks and rivers. They are commonly found near vegetation and submerged logs.
Habitat Regions: temperate
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Wetlands: swamp
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 20.0 years.
Gar species in North America are easily recognized by their long snouts, sharply toothed jaws, non-overlapping and diamond shaped ganoid scales, and posterior placement of dorsal and anal fins on the body. Specifically, the shortnose gar is characterized by a short (relative to other gars), broad snout. The upper jaw is longer then the rest of the head and contains only one row of teeth. The shortnose gar has olive or brown coloration with white on the ventral side and black spots on median fins. Paired fins usually lack spots (spots found only on individuals living in clear water). Juveniles have fairly broad dark brown stripes along back and side.
Range length: 83 (high) cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Average mass: 1430 g.
Due to gars bony composition and tough, interlocking ganiod scales, gars are nearly impervious to any forms of predation. Adult gars have no known predators except humans.
Known Predators:
Gars begin to spawn in early to mid April until the end of May (Eschelle and Burr, 1972). Shortnose gars spawn in shallow water among the grass and aquatic weeds and prefer grassy sloughs as spawning grounds. Their eggs are large, green, and poisonous to warm-blooded vertebrates, including humans (Eddy, 1974).
Breeding season: early to mid April until the end of May
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; sexual ; fertilization (External ); oviparous
Shortnose gar do not care for their young.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement
The shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) is a primitive freshwater fish of the family Lepisosteidae. It is native to the United States where its range includes the Mississippi and Missouri River basins, ranging from Montana to the west and the Ohio River to the east, southwards to the Gulf Coast. It inhabits calm waters in large rivers and their backwaters, as well as oxbow lakes and large pools. It is a long, slender fish, brown or olive green above and whitish below. It typically grows to about 60 cm (24 in) and is armored by rows of interlocking, rhomboidal ganoid scales.
The shortnose gar is an ambush predator, feeding mostly on fish, but also consuming crustaceans, insects, and other invertebrates. Breeding takes place in spring when females, often accompanied by several males, attach their eggs to clumps of submerged vegetation. The eggs, which are toxic to man, hatch after a week or so. After consuming their yolk sac, the young fish feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans, maturing at an age of about three years.
Shortnose gar have a prehistoric-looking appearance. Like many other "lie-in-wait" predators, they have an elongated, torpedo-like body with an elongated head containing one row of sharp, conical teeth. Similar to many Paleozoic and Mesozoic actinopterygians, their bodies are covered in rows of interlocking, rhomboidal ganoid scales that create an exceptionally protective, yet flexible armor around the fish.[4] The dorsal fin is located posterior nearly directly above the anal fin and very near the large caudal fin. Shortnose gar vary in color, changing from brown/olive green on the dorsal surface to yellow on the sides and white on the underbelly. Shortnose gar can be discerned from other gar species in that they lack the upper jaw of the alligator gar, the long snout of the longnose gar, and the markings of the spotted gar.[5] The shortnose gar reaches up to 88 cm (35 in), but a more common length is 62.5 cm (24.6 in).[6]
Shortnose gar generally inhabit calm waters in large rivers and their backwaters, as well as oxbow lakes and large, quiet pools, typically around vegetation or downed logs.[7] Gar have the ability to survive in environments with very little oxygen and especially turbid conditions because of their specialized gas bladder. Gar gas bladders have the ability to function like a lung to extract and use oxygen from swallowed air in addition to regulating buoyancy.[5]
Shortnose gar typically spawn in the spring during April, May, and June, when water temperatures are between 16 and 21 °C (61 and 70 °F). Often accompanied by more than one male, females scatter large, yellowish-green eggs in quiet, shallow water among submerged vegetation or other underwater structures. A sticky adhesive holds the eggs together in clumps, where they hatch after eight to 9 days.[5] The eggs are poisonous to birds and mammals, including humans.[7] The young remain in the yolk sac for another week, then they feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans. Young gar typically lead solitary lives and sexual maturity is achieved around three years of age when the gar reaches about 15 in (380 mm) in length.[5]
Shortnose gar are efficient, fierce, ambush predators. They feed mainly on fish, but they are very opportunistic and also eat crayfish, insects, and other invertebrates.[7] Despite feeding mainly on whatever fish are available, shortnose gar eat more invertebrates than any other gar and have even been found to exhibit territorial defense behaviors around favorable pools while foraging on high numbers of periodical cicadas.[8]
Shortnose gar today are only located in North America. Located mainly in the central United States, they occupy much of the Mississippi and Missouri River basins ranging from Montana (in the west) to the Ohio River (in the east) in the north and the Gulf Coast from Louisiana and Alabama to parts of Texas in the south.[6]
Shortnose gar help maintain ecosystem equilibrium by feeding on minnows that are destructive to game fish and other fish populations. They are popular aquarium fish, and are frequently found in public aquariums across the country.
With very few natural predators able to cope with a gar's thick ganoid scale armor, shortnose gar are generally plentiful. One exception is in Montana, where they are considered a fish of special concern due to restricted distribution and limited population sizes.[5] In Ohio, they are an endangered species because of limited range (primarily the Ohio River and lower Scioto and Great Miami Rivers).
In Greek, Lepisosteus translates to "bony scale", and platostomus translates to "broad mouth".[4]
The shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) is a primitive freshwater fish of the family Lepisosteidae. It is native to the United States where its range includes the Mississippi and Missouri River basins, ranging from Montana to the west and the Ohio River to the east, southwards to the Gulf Coast. It inhabits calm waters in large rivers and their backwaters, as well as oxbow lakes and large pools. It is a long, slender fish, brown or olive green above and whitish below. It typically grows to about 60 cm (24 in) and is armored by rows of interlocking, rhomboidal ganoid scales.
The shortnose gar is an ambush predator, feeding mostly on fish, but also consuming crustaceans, insects, and other invertebrates. Breeding takes place in spring when females, often accompanied by several males, attach their eggs to clumps of submerged vegetation. The eggs, which are toxic to man, hatch after a week or so. After consuming their yolk sac, the young fish feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans, maturing at an age of about three years.
.jpg)
