The prehistoric relatives of the species first appeared 157 million years ago and have resided in many parts of the world. gars are only found in North and Central America, South America and Australia. The species is also found in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
Gars have a wide range of habitats in which they can be found. Their range extends from the equator to 40 degrees north and south latitude, and from 60 degrees east to 70 degrees west longitude.
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Are alligator gar older than dinosaurs?
Gars of today are the surviving species from the ancient Lepisosteiformes family of ray-finned fish. Their ancestors date back to the late Jurassic era, about 157 million years ago, when dinosaurs were still roaming the earth. Only seven species of gars have been discovered.
“The discovery of this new species is a major step forward in our understanding of how these fish evolved,” said study co-author and University of California, Santa Barbara, paleontologist David Evans, Ph.D.
“It is the first time that we have found a gar that is so closely related to its closest living relative, the platyhelminthes, and it is also the only one of its kind that has been found in the fossil record.
How old is a 300 pound alligator gar?
The largest alligator gar ever caught was 8 feet 5 inches and 327 pounds. The researchers think fish was 95 percent of the total weight. “It’s the biggest fish we’ve ever seen in the Gulf of Mexico, and it was caught by a fisherman who had never caught a fish like this before,” said Dr. David C. Smith, a fisheries biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
When did alligator gar evolve?
The existence of gars like the Alligator gar was documented in the fossil record over 120 million years ago.
“This is the first time that we’ve found a fossil of a gar that is so large that it would have been able to swallow its prey whole,” said study co-author and University of California, Santa Cruz, paleontologist David Evans, Ph.D., in a press release.
What is the oldest fish?
Scientists believe that Methuselah, an Australian lungfish, is about 90 years old. “It’s the oldest known fossil fish in the world,” said study co-author and University of Queensland palaeobotanist Dr. David Evans, from the Queensland Museum.
How old is a 4 foot gar?
The age of the fish doubles for every additional foot it grows. A 3-foot gar is about 2.5 years old, a 4-foot gar is about 5 years old, and a 7-foot trophy catch is 40 years old. The world record, which was caught in Mississippi in 2011, weighed 327 pounds and was at least a decade old.
Is alligator gar meat good eating?
It is closer in taste to alligator than chicken. gar flesh can be soaked in salted water overnight to moderate its flavor. You can either fry the fillet, boil them, or put the meat through a grinder twice and make patties out of them. It’s hot to eat hot.
