Atractosteus

Alligator Hecht ( Atractosteus spatula )

Atractosteus is a genus of gars, which occurs in three species in North and Central America.

Features

Of the species of the genus Lepisosteus, the Atractosteus species differ by two rows of enlarged teeth each side of the jaw and her large, branched gill rakers with 59-81 rays on the first gill arch. The body is strong and the muzzle shorter and wider than in Lepisosteus.

Systematics and evolution

There are three extant species of the genus known:

• Alligator Hecht (A. spatula ) in North America to about three meters in length
• Cuban gar (A. tristocheus ) in Cuba with up to about two meters in length
• Tropical gar (A. tropicus ) in Central America with up to 125 centimeters in length

The age of the genus is estimated to be about 180 million years. Fossils are known from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, the oldest of which date from the early Cretaceous of West Africa before about 135 million years ago.