- Where to see one
- 3 U.S. zoos in our directory hold spotted gar, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the spotted gar
The spotted gar is a freshwater fish of North America with dark spots across its head, fins and dart-shaped body. It typically grows 0.61 to 0.91 m long and has an elongated, needle-toothed beak and thick, diamond-shaped enamel scales. It lives in clear, slow-moving, shallow water of creeks, rivers and lakes, from southern Ontario to the northern Gulf of Mexico coast. It is a voracious predator of fish, shrimp and other invertebrates, and eats most of its food at night. Because slow water can be low in oxygen, it can gulp air and pass it to a primitive lung, the gas bladder.
Spotted Gar facts
- Its green, sticky eggs, laid on aquatic plants, are highly toxic to would-be predators.
- A female can lay up to about 20,000 eggs, though the average is around 13,000.
- The name Lepisosteus is Greek for bony scale.
- One captive spotted gar lived more than 20 years, against a typical maximum of about 18.
Where to see spotted gar in the U.S.
3 zoos across 3 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 3 zoos holding spotted gar by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
Illinois· 1
Kansas· 1
Louisiana· 1
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
