GAR ID�A primer on gar in Texas�on Passport to Texas. 

This is Passport to Texas

Alligator gar are Texas� largest and most long-lived 
freshwater fish. People claim to see alligator gar just 
about everywhere in Texas, but they are one of the most 
misidentified species of fish around. 

09�The main thing Texans need to know is that there are four species 
of gar in the state of Texas. And it seems like everybody thinks every 
gar they see is an alligator gar � and that�s not the case.

Michael Baird, a fisheries biologist for parks and wildlife, 
says even among the four species of gar that occur in 
Texas �spotted, longnose, shortnose and alligator gar � 
this species is unique. The easiest way to tell the 
difference between alligator gar and spotted gar is in the 
name.

03�The spotted gar are the only gar species that have spots all 
over their head and body.

Longnose gar are the most abundant gar species in the 
state, but the name of this species also clues anglers to 
the best way to tell them apart from an alligator gar.

14�The way you can tell the difference between an alligator gar 
and a longnose gar is from the top of the fish looking down on 
the head � if it�s alligator like it�s probably an alligator gar. If it 
has a really narrow snout it�s probably a longnose gar.

The fourth species � shortnose gar � can only be found in 
Texas on the Red River below Lake Texoma along the 
Oklahoma and Arkansas borders. 

04�If you�re up there you might see a shortnose gar, if you�re 
not there you are not going to see one.�

Tomorrow: where to find alligator gar in Texas. 

The Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series. 

For Texas Parks and Wildlife�I�m Cecilia Nasti.

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