Their bellies and undersides are lighter colored. The hard, ganoid scales on alligator gars protect them like a suit of armor. Some Native Americans used the scales as armor and also for arrowheads and adornment on their tribal dress. Early settlers attached the scales to wooded plows to create effective sod busters. Ganoid scales are still used as jewelry today.
Many researchers see gars as an evolutionary link.
Living specimens of this primitive fish closely resemble gars recorded in fossils from 75 millions years ago. Gars can breathe both air and water, which is one of the reasons they have survived so long. This allows them to gulp air from above the water ' s surface when oxygen in the water is depleted. Alligator gar are usually found in sluggish pools and backwaters of large rivers, swamps, bayous, and lakes, and even brackish water along the Gulf Coast. They are well adapted to poor quality water, and open waters of large and deep bayous seem to be their favorite haunts, although shallow, flooded vegetation seems to be necessary for spawning.