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Animal profile

Alligator Gar

Atractosteus spatula

ActinopterygiiLarge slow rivers, oxbow lakes, bayous and brackish coastal watersLeast Concern

Field profile

The alligator gar is the largest gar and one of the largest freshwater fishes in North America, armoured in interlocking diamond-shaped ganoid scales and carrying a broad snout with two rows of upper teeth. Large adults exceed two metres.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2025-04-12

Alligator Gar

Alligator gar eggs are poisonous to eat

The flesh of an alligator gar is edible, but its roe is not. Gar eggs contain an ichthyotoxin that causes serious gastrointestinal illness in mammals and birds, an unusual chemical defence for a fish that is otherwise armoured purely by scale.

Read with evidence →

Alligator Gar | Daily Animal Facts