May I trouble you by asking if you could post some of these pics of the Spotted Gars that you have mentioned. I am having a hard time taking it in that my boy of 5 years isn't what I thought he is. It's kinda like finding out that you were adopted. Also, if you can post the pics of the Spotted Gar do you have any good references on where I could aquire one?
ID please..
- Thread starter ceewah
- Start date
Dude, I've looked at the links in his sig as well as the links in the Gar ID. The Florida gar and so-called Spotted gar look exactly the same in the all the links. Maybe the Florida has some darker patterns but basically if you are specifically trying to distinguish between a Florida and a Spotted the Gar ID tools are useless.
I mean look at these links, they look just like my fish and a few others on here and they are classified as "Spotted Gar". I don't get it... One of them even says thanks to E_americans!!!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Lepisosteus_oculatus.jpg
http://www.freewebs.com/reddevilcichlidpicturepage/garpictures.htm
I mean look at these links, they look just like my fish and a few others on here and they are classified as "Spotted Gar". I don't get it... One of them even says thanks to E_americans!!!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Lepisosteus_oculatus.jpg
http://www.freewebs.com/reddevilcichlidpicturepage/garpictures.htm
Gar keeper;3103791; said:
i understand your issues, with this, but trust me when i say the most recent IDs are correct. gar ID has been an ever-evolving process, and the post on the second link probably was using an old ID key. the wikimedia ID...well, that's wiki-crap for you. it's very likely an incorrect ID OR there is an off chance that it's a very old and stunted spotted gar, but i suspect the former as i have seen that pic before.
as i just about always bring up (over and over and over) look at primitivefishes.com and go to the spotted gar section. these are all locality-verified spotted gars, one of which i still have in my tank right now. i'll see what other pics i can dig up, but several of our field pics i have posted here and on AP are of spotted gars. there are no definite places to get spotted gars from LFS that i know of at this time...LFS gars are primarily FL gars.
once again, your gar and the gars in this thread are all Florida gars.--
--solomon
Solomon,
Thank you for the break down and explanation of thing. I am just in shock that for the last 4-5 years I have thought that I have a Spotted Gar.
I certainly don't trust my LFS as they also stock "silver gar" and such
But those pics on the primitivefish site, the Fl gar is practically black and white, where the Spotted is more brown. My gar is 100% more brown than black and white, and if the colors don't matter then I can't really see any other difference that would distinguish it, like a thicker snout or something like that.
What are you looking for when you ID a fl/spot? Is it color at all? Is it pattern? Is it snout?
Talk to me man... how are you so certain that it's a FL?
I fully trust you and thank you for your help but I just want to know what it is that you look for.
Thank you for the break down and explanation of thing. I am just in shock that for the last 4-5 years I have thought that I have a Spotted Gar.
I certainly don't trust my LFS as they also stock "silver gar" and such
But those pics on the primitivefish site, the Fl gar is practically black and white, where the Spotted is more brown. My gar is 100% more brown than black and white, and if the colors don't matter then I can't really see any other difference that would distinguish it, like a thicker snout or something like that.
What are you looking for when you ID a fl/spot? Is it color at all? Is it pattern? Is it snout?
Talk to me man... how are you so certain that it's a FL?
I fully trust you and thank you for your help but I just want to know what it is that you look for.
I'm sure Solomon will have better ID info, but I have noticed that Florida gars tend to retain the juvenile lateral stripe, at least near the head, while spotted gars lose all trace of the stripe as they mature and develop a completely spotted pattern. Spotteds also seem to have a somewhat longer snout than Floridas.
Gar keeper;3105477; said:Solomon,
Thank you for the break down and explanation of thing. I am just in shock that for the last 4-5 years I have thought that I have a Spotted Gar.
I certainly don't trust my LFS as they also stock "silver gar" and such
But those pics on the primitivefish site, the Fl gar is practically black and white, where the Spotted is more brown. My gar is 100% more brown than black and white, and if the colors don't matter then I can't really see any other difference that would distinguish it, like a thicker snout or something like that.
What are you looking for when you ID a fl/spot? Is it color at all? Is it pattern? Is it snout?
Talk to me man... how are you so certain that it's a FL?
I fully trust you and thank you for your help but I just want to know what it is that you look for.
platyrinchus have shorter, broader snouts whereas oculatus have longer, narrower snouts.
How about exported fish.
I'm in holland an supposedly bought a Spotted.
Are most export Gars also Floridas?
I'm in holland an supposedly bought a Spotted.
Are most export Gars also Floridas?
Noddy;3112973; said:
yes, most exported gars with spots on them that are Lepisosteus genus (and not clearly longnoses) are Florida gars, not spotted gars. images of gars from LFS/fishkeepers all over the world support this--
--solomon
