Shortnose gar have a prehistoric looking appearance.

Shortnose gar are popular aquarium fish, and are frequently found in public aquariums across the country.

Shortnose gar are efficient, fierce ambush predators.

With very few natural predators able to cope with a gar's thick ganoid armor, shortnose gars are generally plentiful.

Lepisosteus platostomus (Shortnose gar)

Shortnose gars vary in color, changing from brown/olive green on the dorsal surface to yellow on the sides and white on the underbelly.

The Shortnose Gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) is a primitive freshwater fish of the family Lepisosteidae.

Fish species include Bluegill, Sunfish, Shortnose Gar, Spotted Gar, Crappie, Largemouth bass and Channel catfish.

Other species of fish found there are white bass, bluegill, gizzard shad, shortnose gar, bigmouth buffalo, freshwater drum, smallmouth buffalo, common carp, shortnose redhorse, and northern pike.

Despite feeding mainly on whatever fish are available, shortnose gar eat more invertebrates than any other gar and have even been found to exhibit territorial defense behaviors around favorable pools while foraging on high numbers of periodical cicadas.

Shortnose gar can be discerned from other gar species in that they lack the upper jaw of the alligator gar, the long snout of the longnose gar, and the markings of the spotted gar.

Lepisosteus platostomus (Shortnose gar)

The Shortnose Gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) is a primitive freshwater fish of the family Lepisosteidae.