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.

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.

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) — Photo: Cymothoa exigua / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Source / cropped

Species Data

Classification: Lepisosteiformes / Lepisosteidae Source
Size: Mature individuals are around 1.8 m in total length and said to approach 3 m at maximum; the certified record is 257.2 cm
Weight: Mature individuals commonly exceed 45 kg; the certified record is 148 kg
Lifespan: Estimated at 50–70 years in the wild, and over 95 years at the longest
Diet: Carnivore Mainly piscivorous ambush predator, feeding chiefly on herring-family fish and also taking waterfowl on the surface, small mammals, and turtles
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
Sources: ja.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

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

Operating facilities registered on this site: Japan 3

Conservation Story

Conservation Status

Least Concern (LC)

Sources

ja.wikipedia.org

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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
How many operating facilities are registered here?: Operating facilities registered on this site: Japan 3 Source

Books & gear

Source: ja.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org