Description
The Spotted Gar is a long, cylindrical, primitive fish. It possesses a velvety brown colouring with conspicuous dark spots on snout, head, flanks and fins. Dorsal and anal fins are well back, close to the caudal fin. The species is distinguished from the Longnose Gar by head colour and snout length: Spotted Gars have spotted heads and wide snouts, whereas Longnose Gars have olive-brown to dark-green heads and long, narrow snouts. The Spotted Gar may reach 112 centimeters in length, 13 kilograms in weight. More commonly, it is found to reach 28 to 60 centimeters in length and 1 kilogram in weight. Females grow larger and live longer than males.