Description

Large size and broad, short snout. Light dorsal stripe. Dark olivaceous brown above and white to yellowish beneath. Dark brown blotches on all fins (Ref. 37032).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Holostei

Order: Lepisosteiformes

Family: Lepisosteidae

Genus: Atractosteus

Species: Atractosteus spatula (Lacepède, 1803)

Climate Zone

Location

• North America: ranges from Mississippi River basin from southwestern Ohio and southern Illinois in USA south to Gulf of Mexico; Gulf of Mexico Coastal Plain from Enconfina River in Florida, USA to Veracruz, Mexico.

Biology

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Adults inhabit sluggish pools and backwaters of large rivers, swamps, bayous, and lakes. Rarely enter brackish and marine waters (Ref. 5723). Feed on blue crabs, turtles, waterfowl or other birds and small mammals (Ref. 10294). Giant of the gars (Ref. 5723). Marketed fresh (Ref. 37032).

Habitat

brackish

Conservation Status

Least Concern

Threat to Humans

Harmless