#2322 · 🐟 fish
Florida Gar
Lepisosteus platyrhincus
9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
what is it?
The Florida gar ( Lepisosteus platyrhincus ) is a species of gar found in the USA from the Savannah River and Ochlockonee River watersheds of Georgia and throughout peninsular Florida. Florida gars can reach a length of over 3 ft (91 cm). The young feed on zooplankton and insect larvae, as well as small fish. Adults mainly eat fish, shrimp, and crayfish. Although edible, they are not popular as food. The roe is highly toxic to many animals, including humans...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 4,730 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named by James Ellsworth De Kay in 1842 (184 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Florida Gar
- scientific name
- Lepisosteus platyrhincus
- class
- Actinopterygii
- order
- Lepisosteiformes
- family
- Lepisosteidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings worldwide
- 4,730
- GBIF records in NL
- 0
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1842 by James Ellsworth De Kay
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Lepisosteidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 104251, Wikidata Q583737, GBIF 2346698, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.