< Back | Name: | Alligator Gar | | Family: | Gar | | Scientific Name:
| Atractosteus spatula | | Range: | Lives primarily in the Mississippi, Arkansas and Red rivers. Sometimes found in the lower St. Francis, White and Ouachita rivers. | | Habits and Habitat: | Likes sluggish pools and backwater areas of big rivers. Feeds on fish and spawns in spring. Little is known about its life history. | | Fish Fact:
| Alligator gar were once an important sport and commercial fish in Arkansas, although the population has declined drastically in the last 50 years. Known as a vicious fighter. The state rod-and-reel record as of 2006 was 215 pounds. | | As A Group: | Gars belong to the family Lepisosteidae. Four species are found in Arkansas – alligator, longnose, spotted and shortnose gar – and five species live in the U.S. |
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Click Photo to Enlarge Joe Tomelleri |
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