Alligator Gar of 136 Kg Found in Texas, What Fish Is It? page all

KOMPAS.com – An angler from Texas, Payton Moore, managed to find alligator gar or Atractosteus spatula giant after walking down the Houston bayou.

He caught fish with a length of more than 2.5 meters and weighing about 136 kilograms. After pulling the giant fish ashore and measuring it, Moore again released the alligator into the wild.

“This is an excellent specimen,” said Nate Smith, a research biologist at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Live ScienceSaturday (14/5/2022).

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According to him, it is difficult to determine the exact weight of this giant fish without more precise measurements or official scales.

Officially, the largest gar ever caught in Texas weighed 137 kg. The fish was caught in 1953.

alligator gar

The gar type fish has an ancient fish lineage that was once scattered throughout the world.

Fossil remains of extinct gars dating from the Cretaceous period, about 145 million to 66 million years ago, have been found in Europe, Africa, and South Asia.

Only seven species still exist today, one of which is the alligator gar. This fish is the largest gar species that can still be found.

alligator gar live exclusively in the lower Mississippi River Valley. These fish eat smaller fish, crabs, waterfowl, and turtles.

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As adults, gars may look scary but in fact pose no threat to humans.

Like other gars, this fish roe is toxic to humans, so it should not be consumed.

Recent years have seen an increase in gar conservation efforts from organizations such as the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Although fishing for gar is prohibited, apart from the limit of one fish per day for alligator gar, it is recommended that anglers interested in catching gar take a catch and release approach.

Alligator gars can actually breathe air, so these fish can survive even if they are on land for a few minutes. However, it must be ensured to keep the fish cool and wet, especially in the hot sun.

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