Alligator Gar

Alligator Gar
(Lepisosteus spatula)

Other common names:
Gator Gar.

Identification:
A long cylindrical body covered with armon-like scales.
Upper body dark brown to olive. Sides and belly white to yellow.
Dorsal and anal fin placed well back on the body.
Rounded tail and fins with dark brown blotches.
Long snout with two rows of large teeth in the upper jaw.

Typical location:
Floating like driftwood in shallow and sloggish waters
of rivers, swamps and lakes.

Fishing methods:
Live bait fishing with mullet, herring, telapia or catfish.

Fighting characteristics:
Powerful and quick fighter with a fast strike and a hard pull.
Will often roll up the leader like most sharks.

Alligator Fish
(Aspidophoroides monopterygius)

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Alligator fish lives deep in the ocean bottom. They are also known as sea poacher, aspidophore, and the French call them ‘poisson alligator atlantique’. Alligator fish has a slender, elongated body. It has dark brown coloration on the upper part of its body with lighter color below. The fins have dark bands and may have milky white pigmentation. Bony plates cover the head and body. Alligator fish has large eyes and minute teeth on its jaws.

Medium sized female alligator fish can lay up to 600 large eggs approximately 1.25 mm in diameter. The pelvic fins of the males are longer than the females. Alligator fish lives on small invertebrates and they themselves are fodders for cod, haddock, and halibut.

Alligator fish can be found west of Greenland and on the south coast of Labrador, Maine, Gulf of St. Lawrence, New Brunswick, Bay of Fundy, right down to Cape Cod in New Jersey.