#lepisosteiformes

Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus), family Lepisosteidae, order Lepisosteiformes, Florida, USA

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Order: Lepisosteiformes

Common Name: “gar”

Families: 1 - Lepisosteidae

Anatomy: elongated bodies; heavily armored with ganoid scales; elongated jaws filled with long, sharp teeth; dorsal fins are close to the tail; vascularised swim bladders can function as lungs

Diet: smaller fish and invertebrates

Habitat/Range: much of the eastern portion of North America; found primarily in shallow, weedy, freshwater habitats, though some species can enter brackish water and a few are sometimes found in the sea

Evolved in: Lepisosteiformes in the Early Jurassic, the family Lepisosteidae in the Late Jurassic

Propaganda under the cut:

Lepisosteus oculatus

Spotted Gar

Image source

Status: Least concern

A longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) surfaces the Thames in Ontario, Canada

Lepisosteiformes. This order is made up of the gar, a relatively large and elongated fish whose swim bladder can funciton as lungs.

Amiiformes. This order is made up of the bowfins, also known as mudfish, ambush predators that are cabale of breathing air as well as water.

The alligator gar is a euryhaline ray-finned fish in the clade Ginglymodi of the infraclass Holostei, being most closely related to the bowfins. It is the largest species in the gar family, and is among the largest freshwater fish in North America.

Leucistic

Melanistic