Lepisosteus oculatus  Winchell, 1864

Spotted gar
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Image of Lepisosteus oculatus (Spotted gar)
Lepisosteus oculatus
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Lepisosteiformes (Gars) > Lepisosteidae (Gars)
Etymology: Lepisosteus: Greek, lepis = scale + Greek, osteon = bone; bony sacled (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; demersal.   Temperate; 12°C - 20°C (Ref. 2060); 43°N - 28°N

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 40 - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57533); common length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3728); max. published weight: 4.4 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 18 years (Ref. 12193)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Profusion of dark spots on the body, head and fins. Dark in coloration (Ref. 37032).

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

North America: Lake Erie and south Lake Michigan drainages south through Mississippi River basin to Gulf Slope drainages from lower Apalachicola River in Florida to Nueces River in Texas, USA.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults occur in quiet, clear pools and backwaters of lowland creeks, small to large rivers, oxbow lakes, swamps and sloughs. Occasionally enter brackish waters. A voracious predator feeding on various kinds of fishes and crustaceans.

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. Pub. (20):183 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
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Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
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Common names
Synonyms
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Predators
Ecotoxicology
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Maturity
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Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
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Length-weight
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Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
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References
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Aquaculture profile
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Mass conversion
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Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
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Tools

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Special reports

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.5781   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00352 (-0.18595 - 0.19298), b=3.22 (3.12 - 3.33), based on LWR estimates for species & family-BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  4.0   ±0.66 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=4; Fec=1,772).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (68 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.