Gar - wikipedia Gar This article is about North American freshwater fish of the family Lepisosteidae. For other uses, see Gar ( disambiguation ). Gar Temporal range : Late Cretaceous -- Recent PreЄ Є Pg Spotted gar ( Lepisosteus oculatus ) Scientific classification Kingdom : Animalia Phylum : Chordata Class : Actinopterygii Subclass : Neopterygii Infraclass : Holostei Order : Lepisosteiformes O.P. Hay, 1929 Family : Lepisosteidae Cuvier, 1825 Genera Atractosteus Lepisosteus † Masillosteus ( 1 ) Gars ( or garpike ) are members of the Lepisosteiformes ( or Semionotiformes ), an ancient holosteian order of ray - finned fish ; fossils from this order are known from the late Cretaceous onwards. The family Lepisosteidae includes 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. Gars have elongated bodies that are heavily armored with ganoid scales, and fronted by similarly elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth. All of the gars are relatively large fish, but the alligator gar ( Atractosteus spatula ) is the largest, as specimens have been reported to be 3 m ( 9.8 ft ) in length ; however, they typically grow to 2 m ( 6.6 ft ) and weigh over 45.3 kg ( 100 lb ). Unusually, their vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs, and most gars surface periodically to take a gulp of air. Gar flesh is edible and the hard skin and scales of gars are used by humans. Contents 1 Etymology 2 Distribution 3 Anatomy and morphology 4 Ecology 5 Species 6 Significance to humans 7 References 8 External links Etymology The name gar was originally used for a species of needlefish ( Belone belone ) found in the North Atlantic and likely taking its name from the Old English word for `` spear ''. Belone belone is now more commonly referred to as the `` garfish '' or `` gar fish '' to avoid confusion with the North American gars of the family Lepisosteidae. Confusingly, the name `` garfish '' is commonly used for a number of other species of the related genera Strongylura, Tylosurus and Xenentodon of the family Belonidae. The genus name Lepisosteus comes from the Greek lepis meaning `` scale '' and osteon meaning `` bone ''. Atractosteus is similarly derived from Greek, in this case from atraktos, meaning arrow. Distribution Fossil gars are found in Europe, India, South America, and North America, indicating that in times past, these fish had a wider distribution than they do today. Gars are considered to be a remnant of a group of bony fish that flourished in the Mesozoic, and are most closely related to the bowfin. Anatomy and morphology Large gar in an aquarium Atractosteus fossil Gar bodies are elongated, heavily armored with ganoid scales, and fronted by similarly elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth. Their tails are heterocercal, and the dorsal fins are close to the tail. As their vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs, most gars surface periodically to take a gulp of air, doing so more frequently in stagnant or warm water when the concentration of oxygen in the water is low. They also appear to surface in fast - moving rapids. As a result, they are extremely hardy and able to tolerate conditions that would kill most other fish. All the gars are relatively large fish, but the alligator gar Atractosteus spatula is the largest. The largest alligator gar ever caught and officially recorded was 8 ft 5 ⁄ in ( 2.572 m ) long, weighed 327 lb ( 148 kg ), and was 47 in ( 120 cm ) around the girth. Even the smaller species, such as Lepisosteus oculatus, are large, commonly reaching lengths of over 60 cm ( 2.0 ft ), and sometimes much more. Ecology Gars tend to be slow - moving fish except when striking at their prey. They prefer the shallow and weedy areas of rivers, lakes, and bayous, often congregating in small groups. They are voracious predators, catching their prey with their needle - like teeth, obtained with a sideways strike of the head. They feed extensively on smaller fish and invertebrates such as crabs. Gars are found across all of North America ( for example Lepisosteus osseus ). Although gars are primarily found in freshwater habitats, several species enter brackish waters and a few, most notably Atractosteus tristoechus, are sometimes found in the sea. Some gars travel from lakes and rivers through sewers to get to ponds. Species The gar family contains seven extant species, in two genera : Cladogram of living gars Lepisosteidae Atractosteus A. tropicus A. tristoechus A. spatula Lepisosteus L. oculatus L. platyrhincus L. osseus L. platostomus Family Lepisosteidae Genus Atractosteus Rafinesque, 1820 † Atractosteus africanus ( Arambourg & Joleaud, 1943 ) Atractosteus spatula ( Lacépède, 1803 ) ( alligator gar ) Atractosteus tristoechus ( Bloch & J.G. Schneider, 1801 ) ( Cuban gar ) Atractosteus tropicus Gill, 1863 ( tropical gar ) Genus Lepisosteus Linnaeus, 1758 † Lepisosteus bemisi Grande, 2010 † Lepisosteus cominatoi Santos, 1984 † Lepisosteus fimbriatus Wood, 1846 † Lepisosteus indicus Woodward, 1908 Lepisosteus oculatus Winchell, 1864 ( Spotted gar ) † Lepisosteus opertus Estes, 1964 Lepisosteus osseus ( Linnaeus, 1758 ) ( Longnose gar ) Lepisosteus platostomus Rafinesque, 1820 ( Shortnose gar ) Lepisosteus platyrhincus DeKay, 1842 ( Florida gar ) Significance to humans Lepisosteus platyrhincus Gar flesh is edible, and sometimes available in markets, but unlike the sturgeon they resemble, their eggs are highly toxic to humans. Several species are traded as aquarium fish. The hard skin and scales of the gar were used by humans. Native Americans used the scales of the gar as arrowheads, native Caribbeans used the skin for breastplates, and early American pioneers covered the blades of their plows in gar skin. Not much is known about the precise function of the gar in Native American religion and culture, but besides using the gar, Creek and Chickasaw people have ritual `` garfish dances ''. A gar leaps out of the water. References ^ Jump up to : Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. ( 2009 ). `` Lepisosteidae '' in FishBase. January 2009 version. ^ Jump up to : `` Family Lepisosteidae - Gars ''. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ Sterba, G : Freshwater Fishes of the World, p. 609, Vista Books, 1962 Jump up ^ Sherman, Vincent R. ; Yaraghi, Nicholas A. ; Kisailus, David ; Meyers, Marc A. ( 2016 - 12 - 01 ). `` Microstructural and geometric influences in the protective scales of Atractosteus spatula ''. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. 13 ( 125 ) : 20160595. ISSN 1742 - 5689. PMID 27974575. doi : 10.1098 / rsif. 2016.0595. ^ Jump up to : `` Atractosteus spatula - Alligator gar ''. Retrieved 2007 - 07 - 19. Jump up ^ `` Atractosteus spatula ''. Florida Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2016 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Gar ''. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Common Names of Belone belone ''. Archived from the original on 2007 - 10 - 19. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Genera reference detail ''. Retrieved 2007 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Genera reference detail ''. Retrieved 2016 - 02 - 21. Jump up ^ Wiley, Edward G. ( 1998 ). Paxton, J.R. ; Eschmeyer, W.N., eds. Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego : Academic Press. pp. 78 -- 79. ISBN 0 - 12 - 547665 - 5. Jump up ^ `` Alligator Gar ( Atractosteus spatula ) ''. Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Retrieved March 8, 2016. ^ Jump up to : Kodera H. et al. : Jurassic Fishes. TFH, 1994, ISBN 0 - 7938 - 0086 - 2 Jump up ^ Monks N. ( editor ) : Brackish Water Fishes, pp 322 -- 324. TFH 2006, ISBN 0 - 7938 - 0564 - 3 Jump up ^ Jeremy J. Wright, Solomon R. David, Thomas J. Near : Gene trees, species trees, and morphology converge on a similar phylogeny of living gars ( Actinopterygii : Holostei : Lepisosteidae ), an ancient clade of ray - finned fishes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 63 ( 2012 ) 848 -- 856 PDF Jump up ^ Cavin, Lionel ; Martin, Michel ; Valentin, Xavier ( 1996 ). `` Occurence of Atractosteus africanus ( actinopterygii, lepisosteidae ) in the early campanian of ventabren ( Bouches - du - Rhône, France ). Paleobiogeographical implications ''. Revue de Paléobiologie. 15 ( 1 ) : 1 -- 7. access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Gar ''. Environment.nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 29 May 2011. Jump up ^ Burton, Maurice ; Robert Burton ( 2002 ). The international wildlife encyclopedia, Volume 9. Marshall Cavendish. p. 929. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7614 - 7266 - 7. Retrieved 18 July 2010. Jump up ^ Spitzer, Mark ( 2010 ). Season of the Gar : Adventures in Pursuit of America 's Most Misunderstood Fish. U of Arkansas P. pp. 118 -- 19. ISBN 978 - 1 - 55728 - 929 - 2. External links Family Lepisosteidae Return of the Gar Extant Actinopterygii orders by subclass Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Infraphylum Gnathostomata Superclass Osteichthyes Cladistii Polypteriformes Actinopteri Chondrostei Acipenseriformes Neopterygii Holostei Lepisosteiformes Amiiformes Teleostei Elopomorpha Elopiformes Albuliformes Notacanthiformes Anguilliformes Osteoglossomorpha Osteoglossiformes Hiodontiformes Otomorpha Clupeiformes Alepocephaliformes Gonorynchiformes Cypriniformes Characiformes Gymnotiformes Siluriformes Lepidogalaxii Lepidogalaxiiformes Protacanthopterygii Argentiniformes Galaxiiformes Salmoniformes Esociformes Stomiati Osmeriformes Stomiiformes incertae sedis Ateleopodiformes Aulopiformes Myctophiformes Lampriformes Polymixiiformes Paracanthopterygii Percopsiformes Zeiformes Stylephoriformes Gadiformes Acanthopterygii Beryciformes Trachichthyiformes Holocentriformes Ophidiiformes Batrachoidiformes Kurtiformes Gobiiformes Syngnathiformes Scombriformes Synbranchiformes Anabantiformes Istiophoriformes Carangiformes Pleuronectiformes Cichliformes Atheriniformes Cyprinodontiformes Beloniformes Mugiliformes Gobiesociformes Blenniiformes Gerreiformes Uranoscopiformes Labriformes Moroniformes Ephippiformes Chaetodontiformes Acanthuriformes Lutjaniformes Lobotiformes Spariformes Scatophagiformes Priacanthiformes Caproiformes Lophiiformes Tetraodontiformes Pempheriformes Centrarchiformes Perciformes Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gar&oldid=800755751 '' Categories : Lepisosteidae Fish of Central America Fish of North America Living fossils Extant Late Cretaceous first appearances Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from June 2015 Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Articles with ' species ' microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikispecies Azərbaycanca Cebuano Deutsch Euskara فارسی Français 한국어 Íslenska Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული Қазақша Кыргызча Lietuvių Ligure Magyar Nāhuatl Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Română Русский Svenska ไทย Українська Tiếng Việt Winaray 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 15 September 2017, at 13 : 30. 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Question: how many different types of gar fish are there
Answer: seven