gar: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	gar pike • garfish

Photos

longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus)

alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula)

shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus)

juvenile shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus)

juvenile shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus)

Short-nosed gar

Diagram showing four types of fish scales: ctenoid scales from a bass, cycloid scales from a salmon, ganoid scales from a gar, and placoid scales from a shark, each illustrated with a close-up and the corresponding fish silhouette.

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Topics

Atractosteus Lepisosteus Lepisosteidae billfish lungfish bichir pirarucu reedfish labyrinth fish mudskipper notopterid snakehead climbing perch walking catfish

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