Alligator gar

Alligator Hecht ( Atractosteus spatula )

The alligator pike ( Atractosteus spatula ) with a maximum length of 3.05 meters and a maximum weight of 137 kilograms, the largest billfish ( Lepisosteidae ) and one of the largest freshwater fish in North America. In the Rio Grande an alligator pike was caught in 1951, the ( 279 lb ) weighed 126 kg supposedly.

Appearance

Alligator pike are dark, olive-green color and have no drawing. The scales are diamond-shaped and interlocked with each other. The North American Indians used it to make arrow, spear points and jewelry.

Have alligator pike as a member of the genus Atractosteus a double row of large teeth in the upper jaw. You they owe their German and English name.

Dissemination

He lives in the basin of the Mississippi River from southwestern Ohio and southern Illinois to the Gulf of Mexico, Texas and eastern Mexico to Veracruz and western Florida. The fish go into brackish water and very rarely into the sea.

Nutrition

The alligator pike is a shock robber who passively waiting for passing floating loot. He mainly eats fish, but also water fowl and small alligators have been already found in the stomachs of captured alligator pike.