Species profile
Longnose Gar
Lepisosteus osseus
At a glance
Longnose Gar (Lepisosteus osseus) is an IUCN Least Concern bony-fish species regulated in 13 of 66 jurisdictions tracked by CatchRules across the U.S. and Canada.
The strictest bag limit is 1 (Maryland); the most generous is 100 (Missouri).
Across 4 jurisdictions with stated minimum sizes, the average minimum is 40.3 in (≈ 3 ft 4 in).
Confirmed by 4,256 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with Texas, Florida, and Ontario the top jurisdictions by observation count.
Notable details
- Its narrow snout can be more than twice the length of the back of its skull — the longest ratio of any North American gar.
- Longnose gar have the largest natural range of any gar species, extending north as far as Quebec, Canada.
- Adults commonly reach 3–4 feet; large individuals can weigh over 20 pounds.
- They are ambush predators, hovering motionless near the surface before striking prey with a rapid sideways snap.
- Fossil gar essentially identical to modern species have been found in Cretaceous rock over 100 million years old.
Where Longnose Gar are seen
Jurisdictions with rules for Longnose Gar
Background
The longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus) is a primitive ray-finned fish of the gar family. It is also known as the needlenose gar. L. osseus is found along the east coast of North and Central America in freshwater lakes and as far west as Kansas and Texas and southern New Mexico. The gar have been present in North America for about 100 million years.
Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Longnose Gar article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.
Other bony fish on CatchRules
Photo credit: iNaturalist / Wikipedia. Identification reference only — verify regulations with the issuing wildlife agency before retaining a catch.