Photo: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument
- Order
- Lepisosteiformes
- Family
- Lepisosteidae
- Size
- About 60 cm / 23.6 in
A Fossil Lake gar armored in tough diamond-shaped scales.
Seven living gar species are found in freshwaters of North America, Central America, and Cuba. Of the four Fossil Lake gar species, all but one are very similar to modern gars.
Outside of the Fossil Butte Member, gar scales are much more common fossils than complete skeletons. These tough scales offer significant protection from would-be predators. Modern gar species often migrate up rivers to spawn. This is a possible explanation for the lack of juvenile gar fossils found in the FBM.
Species text: National Park Service, Fossil Butte National Monument — Fossil Fish Species.