WEBVTT - How Do Alligator Gar Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here,

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<v Speaker 1>as humans, we like to think we run the show

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<v Speaker 1>here on planet Earth, but in the grand scheme of things,

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<v Speaker 1>we're mere infants compared with other species. The prehistoric looking

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<v Speaker 1>alligator gar, for example, is sometimes referred to as a

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<v Speaker 1>living fossil, and for good reason. Scientists can trace this

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<v Speaker 1>unique looking fish back one hundred million years. A gar

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<v Speaker 1>are types of freshwater fish currently found only in eastern

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<v Speaker 1>North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. These seven species

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<v Speaker 1>of gar that exist today are the only surviving members

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<v Speaker 1>of an even more ancient group of fish that developed

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<v Speaker 1>during the Triassic more than two hundred and forty million

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<v Speaker 1>years ago. A gar, also called gar pikes, are named

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<v Speaker 1>for an Anglo Saxon term for spear. The name is

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<v Speaker 1>fitting because they are long, tubular bodies, are covered in

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<v Speaker 1>a protective armor of hard diamond shaped scales, and their

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<v Speaker 1>snouts are typically elongated. The alligator gar is a bit different,

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<v Speaker 1>though it's still torpedo shaped, but its signature facial structure

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<v Speaker 1>involves a short, wide, shovel shaped bill with two rows

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<v Speaker 1>of pointed teeth that make it stand out amongst its

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<v Speaker 1>fellow gar and explains the reptilian name. They do also

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<v Speaker 1>have sets of stubby fins along their belly that look

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<v Speaker 1>a bit like an alligator's legs from a distance. All

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<v Speaker 1>gar can get pretty big, but alligator gar can weigh

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<v Speaker 1>up to three hundred and fifty pounds that's one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and sixty kilos and measure more than ten feet or

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<v Speaker 1>three meters in length. Average sized adults are about a

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<v Speaker 1>third to half of that though for the article this

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on how Stuffworks. Spoke back in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen with one Robert H. Robbins, the collection manager in

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<v Speaker 1>the Division of Ideology at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, the alligator gar is the largest of these

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<v Speaker 1>seven living species of gar. Besides its massive adult size,

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<v Speaker 1>it can be distinguished from other gar by two rows

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<v Speaker 1>of teeth in the upper jar versus one, and a

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<v Speaker 1>head that one measured length versus with is broader than

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<v Speaker 1>most other gar and talk about massive. In the first

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<v Speaker 1>week of May of twenty twenty two, a texasman pulled

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<v Speaker 1>in an alligator gar of truly monstrous proportions. A Peyton Moore,

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<v Speaker 1>a YouTuber educator and conservationist caught the huge fish, which

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<v Speaker 1>was eight feet or two and a half meters long

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<v Speaker 1>and weighed and estimated three hundred pounds or one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and thirty six kilos. In an interview with The Houston Chronicle,

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<v Speaker 1>Moore said it felt like somebody's car had just started

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<v Speaker 1>up and was rolling out of the driveway and I'm

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<v Speaker 1>hanging on to the end of it. Moore released the

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<v Speaker 1>gar back into the bayou, but he didn't seek official certification,

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<v Speaker 1>so his massive catch isn't eligible for the record books.

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<v Speaker 1>The record for the largest alligator gar ever Cotton, Texas

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<v Speaker 1>still stands with the beast hauled into a boat in

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen fifty three, which weighed three hundred and two pounds

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<v Speaker 1>or one hundred and thirty seven kilos. Alligator gar currently

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<v Speaker 1>live in freshwater systems from Montana to southern Quebec to

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<v Speaker 1>Costa Rica, but according to the Fossil Record, they once

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<v Speaker 1>elsus swam in waters from South America to South Asia,

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<v Speaker 1>to Africa to Europe. The alligator gar's distinctive dark, olive

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<v Speaker 1>brown skin is one of the features that has historically

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<v Speaker 1>made the animal a hot commodity for humans. Its thick,

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<v Speaker 1>overlapping scales have been used to make jewelry in tools

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<v Speaker 1>as well as a host of leather products, and the

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<v Speaker 1>skin oil has been used as an insect repellent. Alligator

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<v Speaker 1>gars eat blue crabs, turtles, small mammals, and waterfowl. They

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<v Speaker 1>have few natural predators because of their size. A gar

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<v Speaker 1>are now one of the largest freshwater fishes in North America.

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<v Speaker 1>They can be aggressive when threatened, and certainly dangerous with

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<v Speaker 1>all those needle sharp teeth, but there's never been a

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<v Speaker 1>verified attack on a human by an alligator gar. According

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<v Speaker 1>to Robins, people have been fishing for alligator gar for

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<v Speaker 1>centuries and potentially longer, he said, the reasons for doing

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<v Speaker 1>so vary. In my state, Florida, no one may take

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<v Speaker 1>an alligator gar without a special permit, and such permits

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<v Speaker 1>are limited to scientific research or species management work only.

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<v Speaker 1>This is sound management. Alligator gar are slow growing and

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<v Speaker 1>slow to reach sexual maturity. They aggregate and spawn in

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<v Speaker 1>specialized habitat. All of this makes them vulnerable to overfishing

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<v Speaker 1>and environmental degradation. Regulations in other areas vary. However, while

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<v Speaker 1>experimented fishermen may enjoy the thrill of pursuing and catching

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<v Speaker 1>this distinctive species. No one's exactly clamoring to cook them

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<v Speaker 1>for dinner. The alligator gar is technically edible, but not

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<v Speaker 1>a great meal option for a couple of reasons. A.

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<v Speaker 1>Robins said the eggs of all gar are toxic to

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<v Speaker 1>eat and the flesh's poor quality. In addition, all gars

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<v Speaker 1>have a thick armor like covering of scales over their

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<v Speaker 1>entire body. It would be very, very difficult to process

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<v Speaker 1>a gar, and for the aforementioned reasons, not a good

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<v Speaker 1>idea or in most cases, worth the effort. Their size

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<v Speaker 1>also pretty much excludes them from being kept by home

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<v Speaker 1>aquarium hobbyists. Robin said, I have seen gar for sale

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<v Speaker 1>as pets, including fantastic color varieties, but all gar get

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<v Speaker 1>at least close to a meter in length and are

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<v Speaker 1>too much for all but large public aquaria. A part

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<v Speaker 1>of the reason alligator gar have been on the receiving

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<v Speaker 1>end of overfishing may be due to a now debunked

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<v Speaker 1>theory that the animal was preying on a variety of

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<v Speaker 1>other fish that humans wanted for themselves. In reality, alligator

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<v Speaker 1>gar aren't likely to go after game fish and are

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<v Speaker 1>happy eating a whole lot of other things like the

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<v Speaker 1>aforementioned small mammals, waterfowl, insects, and crustaceans. A Robin said,

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<v Speaker 1>the seven living species of gar are remnants of an

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<v Speaker 1>ancient division of fishes that date to the early Cretaceous

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<v Speaker 1>period about one hundred and eighteen million years ago. They

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<v Speaker 1>are really quite special fishes with an amazingly successful body

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<v Speaker 1>plan in biology that has really stood the test of time.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article Alligator gar one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred million years old and still Kicking on how stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com, written by Michelle Constantinosky. Brain Stuff is production

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<v Speaker 1>of by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot

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<v Speaker 1>Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.