Alligator Garアリゲーターガー
Atractosteus spatulaLC— Least Concern
The alligator gar is one of the largest freshwater fish in North America, an ancient, armor-scaled predator native to rivers and brackish coastal waters from the southern United States to northeastern Mexico. Named for its broad, alligator-like snout lined with a double row of teeth, it can breathe air using a lung-like swim bladder and is thought to live for many decades.
Alligator Gar (reference photo)
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Species Data
- Classification
- Lepisosteiformes / Lepisosteidae Source
- Distribution
- Native to the southern United States (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and others) south into Tamaulipas and northern Veracruz, Mexico, inhabiting rivers, reservoirs, and brackish coastal waters; once ranged as far north as Kansas, Nebraska, and Ohio but is now extirpated from most of that northern range. Source
Did You Know?
- It has a highly vascularized swim bladder that functions like a lung, allowing it to gulp air and survive in poorly oxygenated water. Source
- Its fossil lineage traces back more than 100 million years to the Early Cretaceous, making it one of the more ancient surviving fish lineages. Source
- Spawning is triggered by rising floodwaters, and a single female can release around 150,000 eggs in one spawning event. Source
Where to See This Species
3 facilities · 0 individuals
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魚津水族館のWikipedia記事に飼育種として記載 Source
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青森県営浅虫水族館のWikipedia記事に飼育種として記載 Source
Toba AquariumMieOpened in 1955
鳥羽水族館のWikipedia記事に飼育種として記載 Source
Conservation Story
Conservation Status
IUCNではLCに分類されています。
Habitat
北アメリカ南部の河川、湖、汽水域。
Threats
- 河川改修
- 乱獲
- 湿地減少
Conservation & Breeding Efforts
- 生息地の保全
- 野外放流防止の啓発
Sources
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FAQ
- How big can an alligator gar get?
- Mature individuals commonly reach about 1.8 m and over 45 kg, and the largest officially documented specimen measured 257.2 cm and weighed 148 kg. Source
- Why is the alligator gar able to survive in low-oxygen water?
- It has a highly vascularized swim bladder that acts like a lung, letting it gulp air at the surface and survive in poorly oxygenated water where most fish cannot. Source
Source: ja.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org