![]() |
||||
NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species |
Common Name: spotted gar
Identification: Suttkus (1963); Becker (1983); Page and Burr (1991); Etnier and Starnes (1993).
Size: 112 cm.
Native Range: Lake Erie and southern Lake Michigan drainages south through Mississippi River basin to Gulf Coast; Gulf Slope drainages from lower Apalachicola River, Florida, to Nueces River, Texas (Page and Burr 1991).
Nonindigenous Occurrences: Specimens have been collected in Mississippi River Pool 13, Clinton County, Iowa (Bernstein 2001). Gar were reported from two sites within the Connecticut River drainage in Massachusetts, but specimens were not collected and specific identity could not be confirmed (Hartel 1992; Cardoza et al. 1993; Hartel et al. 1996). The gars were observed in a pond on the Amherst campus, University of Massachusetts in Hampshire County (repeated sightings of a single individual) and in Stanley Park, Northampton, Hampshire County (four to five individuals measuring 400-520 mm TL) (Hartel 1992; Hartel et al. 1996). This species is reported from Lake Ontario, New York (Cudmore-Vokey and Crossman 2000).
Means of Introduction: Unknown.
Status: Reported from Massachusetts. Reported, but not likely established in New York.
Impact of Introduction: Unknown.
Remarks: None.
Cardoza, J. E., G. S. Jones, T.W. French, and D. B. Halliwell. 1993. Exotic and translocated vertebrates of Massachusetts, 2nd edition. Fauna of Massachusetts Series 6. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Publication 17223-110-200-11/93-C.R, Westborough, MA.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels.
Hartel, K. E. 1992. Non-native fishes known from Massachusetts freshwaters. Occasional Reports of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Fish Department, Cambridge, MA. 2. September. pp. 1-9.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Cudmore-Vokey, B. and E.J. Crossman. 2000. Checklists of the fish fauna of the Laurentian Great Lakes and their connecting channels.
Hartel, K. E. 1992. Non-native fishes known from Massachusetts freshwaters. Occasional Reports of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Fish Department, Cambridge, MA. 2. September. pp. 1-9.
Page, L. M., and B. M. Burr. 1991. A field guide to freshwater fishes of North America north of Mexico. The Peterson Field Guide Series, volume 42. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA.
Other Resources:
FishBase Fact Sheet
Author: Pam Fuller
Revision Date: 4/18/2006 Citation for this information:
Pam Fuller. 2009. Lepisosteus oculatus. USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database, Gainesville, FL.
<http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=756> Revision Date: 4/18/2006
AccessibilityFOIAPrivacyPolicies and Notices | |
![]() ![]() |