The Florida Gar is a species of gar

Gar

In American English the name gar is strictly applied to members of the Lepisosteidae, a family including seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine, waters of eastern North America, Central America, and the Caribbean islands.-Etymology:In...

 that is found in the USA from the Savannah River

Savannah River

The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...

 and Ochlockonee River

Ochlockonee River

The Ochlockonee River is a fast running river originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida.- Background :The Ochlockonee originates south of the town of Sylvester in Worth County in southwest Georgia emptying into Ochlockonee Bay, then into Apalachee Bay, in Florida...

 watersheds of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 and throughout peninsular Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Florida gars can reach a length of over 3 feet (132 cm). The young feed on zooplankton

Zooplankton

Zooplankton are heterotrophic plankton. Plankton are organisms drifting in oceans, seas, and bodies of fresh water. The word "zooplankton" is derived from the Greek zoon , meaning "animal", and , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter"...

 and insect larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e, as well as small fish. Adults mainly eat fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

, shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

 and crayfish. Although edible, they are not popular as food. The roe

Roe

Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...

is highly toxic to many animals, including humans and birds.

Appearance

They have irregular round, black spots on the top of their head and over the entire body including the anal fin. The distance of their eyes is less than two-thirds the length of the snout. Also they have a shorter, broad snout with a single row of irregularly spaced sharp teeth on the upper and lower jaws. No bony scales on the throat. Their color is olive-brown on the back and upper sides, with a white to yellow stomach. The young may have dark stripes on the back and sides.

Environment

They can be found in the Ochlockonee River and waters east and in peninsular Florida in medium to large lowland streams, canals and lakes with muddy or sandy bottoms near underwater vegetation. They're often found in medium to shallow waters. They use an air bladder to breathe air which helps them survive in poorly oxygenated water.

Reproduction

This occurs in late winter and early spring. Groups of both sexes come together in shallow weedy water where the females discharge their adhesive eggs among the aquatic plants. The hatched young possess an adhesive organ on the end of their snout and stay attached to vegetation until about 3/4 inches (2 cm) long.