Gar Fish: 7 Species, ID, Toxic Eggs and Where They Live

A gar is a long, armoured freshwater fish with a beak-like snout full of needle teeth. There are seven living species, all in the family Lepisosteidae, found only in North America, Central America and Cuba (Wikipedia).

How to recognise a gar:

• Body: long, heavily armoured with hard ganoid scales (Wikipedia)
• Jaws: long and narrow, lined with sharp teeth; gars catch prey with a quick sideways strike (Wikipedia)
• At the surface: gars often roll or gulp at the top, because the swim bladder works like a lung (SeaWorld)

The fish most often confused with gar is the bowfin, which has a long dorsal fin and a black spot at the base of the tail that is more prominent in males (Virginia DWR, quoted on our snakehead page). If you have a photo, the FishLens app identifies it from the picture.

Wikipedia lists these seven living species:

• Alligator gar, Atractosteus spatula: the largest, often over 2 m and 45 kg; Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri river systems and Mexico. See our alligator gar page
• Cuban gar, Atractosteus tristoechus: Cuba
• Tropical gar, Atractosteus tropicus: Mexico and Central America
• Spotted gar, Lepisosteus oculatus: Lake Michigan, the Mississippi system and Gulf of Mexico drainages
• Florida gar, Lepisosteus platyrhincus: Florida and southern Georgia
• Shortnose gar, Lepisosteus platostomus: the Mississippi basin, from Montana and Wisconsin to Alabama and Louisiana
• Longnose gar, Lepisosteus osseus: the most widespread, from Quebec and the Great Lakes to Florida, Texas and northern Mexico. See our longnose gar page

So where are gar found in the US? Across most of the eastern and central states. SeaWorld notes that four of the seven species live in Florida: alligator, spotted, longnose and Florida gar. Illinois has four as well: longnose, spotted, shortnose and, rarely in the far south, alligator gar (Illinois Department of Natural Resources outdoor education site).

Size separates the species quickly. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources outdoor site gives these typical lengths and Illinois state records:

• Longnose gar: usually 2 to 4 ft; state record 32 lb 1 oz
• Spotted gar: usually 2 to 3 ft; state record 11 lb 1 oz
• Shortnose gar: usually 2 to 3 ft; state record 9 lb 6 oz
• Alligator gar: over 6 ft, described there as the largest freshwater fish in North America

At the top end, SeaWorld cites an alligator gar 3 m (10 ft) long and 127 kg (279 lb). To separate the two most-confused species by snout and other marks, see the alligator gar and longnose gar pages.

The flesh is eaten; the eggs must never be. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources outdoor site describes gar fillets as firm, white and mild, and lists fried nuggets, blackened fillets, smoked gar and stews as common preparations. Wikipedia notes that alligator gar meat is sold for food.

The eggs are a different matter. Wikipedia says gar eggs contain an ichthyotoxin, a protein toxin that is highly toxic to humans, and SeaWorld says the eggs are toxic to humans and animals if eaten. Illinois states plainly that gar eggs should never be consumed.

If anyone has eaten gar roe, or feels ill after eating gar, call your local poison control centre or see a doctor straight away rather than waiting for symptoms to pass. For the flesh, follow your state's fish consumption advisory for the water it came from.

Gar were long treated as "rough fish" or trash fish. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources outdoor site says that label came from cultural perception rather than evidence, and that gar help balance fish communities by eating sick or weak fish and abundant forage such as shad and minnows.

The reasons anglers call gar a bad fish to catch are practical ones: a bony, toothy mouth that is hard to hook, armour that makes cleaning slow, and teeth that demand careful handling. What works, according to Illinois:

• Rod and reel with live or cut bait, giving the fish time to take the bait fully before setting the hook
• Bowfishing, gigging and spearing, especially during the spring spawn, where legal

Seasons and limits vary by state and by species; Illinois points anglers to its annual fishing regulation book. Check the current regulations for your water before keeping any gar.

Not toward people in the sources we checked. Wikipedia's article on gars records no attacks on humans. Gars are ambush predators of fish, crabs and other small animals, and SeaWorld lists live and dead fish, crustaceans, insects and frogs in the diet.

The risk is in handling. Gar teeth are sharp and the jaws are long, so keep hands away from the mouth, use a lip grip or towel, and wear gloves. A tooth wound that becomes red, swollen or painful needs a doctor.