Spotted gar Lepisosteus oculatus Least concern
Where the spotted gar lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 50,703 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See bony fish on the world map
| Scientific name | Lepisosteus oculatus |
|---|---|
| Group | Bony fish |
| Status | Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label) |
| Found in | 1 country |
| Continents | North America |
| Class | Ray-finned fish |
| Order | Lepisosteiformes |
| Family | Lepisosteidae |
Where does the spotted gar live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the spotted gar in 1 country or territory across North America.
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
Is the spotted gar endangered?
The spotted gar’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.
What kind of animal is the spotted gar?
The spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) is a ray-finned fish in the order Lepisosteiformes and the family Lepisosteidae, genus Lepisosteus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the spotted gar
The spotted gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) is a freshwater fish native to North America that has an abundance of dark spots on its head, fins, and dart-like body. Spotted gar have an elongated mouth with many needle-like teeth to catch other fish and crustaceans. It is one of the smallest of the seven species of gar found in North America, growing 2–3 ft (0.61–0.91 m) in length and weighing 4–6 lb (1.8–2.7 kg) typically. Gars have diamond-shaped, thick, enamel (ganoid) scales. The name Lepisosteus is Greek for "bony scale".
Gars are almost never eaten in the central and northern United States. They have high levels of mercury and are considered a cancer risk.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Spotted gar (revision 1328522447), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q779340 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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