Atractosteus spatula (Lacepède, 1803)
Alligator gar
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Atractosteus spatula
Picture by Hofinger, E.
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Picture by Hofinger, E.
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Lepisosteiformes (Gars) > Lepisosteidae (Gars)
Etymology: Atractosteus: Greek, atraktos, arrow + Greek, osteon = bone (Ref. 45335); spatula: From the words atract, meaning spindle and osteus, meaning bony; spatula (referring to snout shape) (Ref. 10294).
Etymology: Atractosteus: Greek, atraktos, arrow + Greek, osteon = bone (Ref. 45335); spatula: From the words atract, meaning spindle and osteus, meaning bony; spatula (referring to snout shape) (Ref. 10294).
Environment / Climate / Range Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; demersal; depth range 0 - ? m (Ref. 55223). Subtropical; 44°N - 20°N, 101°W - 82°W (Ref. 55223)
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 305 cm OT male/unsexed; (Ref. 3221); common length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3728); max. published weight: 137.0 kg (Ref. 58490)
Max length : 305 cm OT male/unsexed; (Ref. 3221); common length : 200 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3728); max. published weight: 137.0 kg (Ref. 58490)
Short description Morphology | Morphometrics
Large size and broad, short snout. Light dorsal stripe. Dark olivaceous brown above and white to yellowish beneath. Dark brown blotches on all fins (Ref. 37032).
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri
North America: ranges from Mississippi River basin from southwestern Ohio and southern Illinois in USA south to Gulf of Mexico; Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain from Enconfina River in Florida, USA to Veracruz, Mexico.
Adults inhabit sluggish pools and backwaters of large rivers, swamps, bayous, and lakes. Rarely enter brackish and marine waters (Ref. 5723). Feed on blue crabs, turtles, waterfowl or other birds and small mammals (Ref. 10294). Giant of the gars (Ref. 5723). Marketed fresh (Ref. 37032).
Main reference
Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Wiley, Ed | Collaborators
Etnier, D.A. and W.C. Starnes, 1993. The fishes of Tennessee. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. (pls. check date).
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO(Publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us
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Synonyms
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Predators
Ecotoxicology
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Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Tools
E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree
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Special reports
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Internet sources
Alien/Invasive Species database | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | DiscoverLife | 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 = 0.6406 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00000 (0.00000 - 0.00000), b=0.00 (0.00 - 0.00), based on (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278): 4.0 ±0.67 se; Based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 69278): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (85 of 100) .