-
- About this page
- Languages
- User feedbacks
- Citation
- Uploads
- Related species
-
Atractosteus spatula (Lacepède, 1803)
Alligator gar
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Videos | Stamps, coins, misc. | Google image
Atractosteus spatula
Picture by Ramani Shirantha
Pictures | Videos | Stamps, coins, misc. | Google image
Picture by Ramani Shirantha
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Holostei (gars and bowfins) > 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).
More on author: Lacepède.
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).
More on author: Lacepède.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Freshwater; brackish; demersal; depth range 0 - ? m (Ref. 55223). Subtropical; 44°N - 20°N, 101°W - 82°W (Ref. 55223)
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | 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.
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 Identification keys | 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).
Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); 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).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
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). (Ref. 10294)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 14 November 2018
CITES
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |
More information
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Tools
E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree
| Catch-MSY |
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | GoMexSI (interaction data) | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD50 = 0.6406 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00229 (0.00091 - 0.00578), b=3.19 (2.97 - 3.41), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.0 ±0.67 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179): Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).