Tropical gar
| Tropical gar | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Clade: | Ginglymodi |
| Order: | Lepisosteiformes |
| Family: | Lepisosteidae |
| Genus: | Atractosteus |
| Species: | A. tropicus
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| Binomial name | |
| Atractosteus tropicus T. N. Gill, 1863
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| Pacific coastal range in yellow (main range inland in river basins, as well as Caribbean coastal range, not shown) | |
| Synonyms[1][2] | |
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The tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus) is a species of fish found from southern Mexico to Costa Rica.[3] This gar inhabits a wide range of fresh and brackish water habitats such as rivers, floodplains, lakes and pools, but avoids areas with a strong current.[4] It reaches lengths of up to 1.25 m (4 ft) (although typically less than half that length) and a weight up to 2.9 kg (6.4 lb).[3] The tropical gar looks very similar to the longnose gar in color and markings, but can be distinguished by its shorter, broader snout. The tropical gar's diet consists mainly of cichlids and other fish.
Conventional and X-ray images
References
- ^ Froese, R.; Pauly, D. (2017). "Lepisosteidae". FishBase version (02/2017). Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ "Lepisosteidae" (PDF). Deeplyfish- fishes of the world. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Atractosteus tropicus" in FishBase. September 2018 version.
- ^ "Atractosteus tropicus". SeriouslyFish. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
External links
Media related to Atractosteus tropicus at Wikimedia Commons- Spitzer, Mark (2015). Return of the Gar. U of North Texas Press. ISBN 9781574415995
