OK you Gar afficionados...Spotted or Florida???

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Deathcurl

Deathcurl

BOO!!!
MFK Member
Jun 28, 2005
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NYC
Just picked up a gar for a buddy and was curious as to what it is :).

Here goes:

DSCF0668.JPG

DSCF0670.JPG
 
nice shots of the gar, especially that last one, for ID ;)

given these pics i would say Florida gar; how big is the fish? --
--solomon
 
Florida. But whats really the differance? Its not like comparing the H1 hummer to the H2. Its more like comparing a 1968 volkswagen beatle to a 1969.
 
No difference really, haha...Just wanted to test my IDing skills compared to others :).

Solomon: The fish is 12"

Thanks guys!
 
Florida gars can be distinguished from spotted gars, by the distance from the front of the eye to the back of the gill cover. In Florida gars, the distance is less than two-thirds the length of the snout. In spotted gars, the distance is more than two-thirds the length of the snout. this is how people have always told me to id them.
 
demjor19;680121; said:
Florida gars can be distinguished from spotted gars, by the distance from the front of the eye to the back of the gill cover. In Florida gars, the distance is less than two-thirds the length of the snout. In spotted gars, the distance is more than two-thirds the length of the snout. this is how people have always told me to id them.
Click to expand...

this has been posted several times on many forums, but doesnt hold true...at least not in smaller specimens or the invidiuals you find in private aquaria. it MIGHT be evident in larger individuals, but even museum specimens i have observered don't really show this.

it shouldn't be considered a diagnostic and will not work for any of the Floridas or spotted gars that are being discussed in this forum--
--solomon
 
really? i had no idea. i guess at least i found that out now. but thats just funny, because everywhere i look that is how they tell you to id them. could this be true for wild ones?
 
demjor19;680492; said:
really? i had no idea. i guess at least i found that out now. but thats just funny, because everywhere i look that is how they tell you to id them. could this be true for wild ones?
Click to expand...

i've seen this posted everywhere too, but i think very few sources have actually tried to confirm it...it's just been copied from one place to another.

it MIGHT be true in very large wild adults, but definitely doesn't hold in captive juveniles and most sub-adults. in the wild specimens i have looked at (museum preserved) this didn't seem to hold either.

i know its frustrating; i had to find out for myself and in discussion of the observations with others (primarily member polypterus). back in the day that 2/3 measurement 'rule' was all i could find about the species as well.--
--solomon
 
yeah i looked at my florida and it didnt hold true.
 
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