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327-lb alligator gar

327-lb alligator gar

Science

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http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/21/327-pound-dinosaur-fish-caught-swimming-mississippi/

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Cool fish. Apparently they're indigenous to the Mississippi delta. Up to ten feet long according to Wiki. They lurk in the reeds in marshes and attack prey with alligator like mouths. Sometimes they bite people it says!

I wonder if they ever fight with real alligators?

The Wiki article says they once in a long while are found in southeast Asia for some reason. How they get there from Louisiana I have no clue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_gar

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung

The Wiki article says they once in a long while are found in southeast Asia for some reason. How they get there from Louisiana I have no clue.
Seems they've been around since the cretaceous period, so they've had 60+ million years to find a way. I suppose there was a time they were far more widely distributed.

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Originally posted by joneschr
Seems they've been around since the cretaceous period, so they've had 60+ million years to find a way. I suppose there was a time they were far more widely distributed.
Everything has been around since the cretaceous period. If these guys had been separated any length of time they'd have become different species. No, they have to be getting swept up in currents somewhere or something.

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Originally posted by AThousandYoung
Everything has been around since the cretaceous period. If these guys had been separated any length of time they'd have become different species. No, they have to be getting swept up in currents somewhere or something.
If they are really not native to the area, then it is most likely they escaped (or were released) from aquariums.

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Originally posted by twhitehead
If they are really not native to the area, then it is most likely they escaped (or were released) from aquariums.
But, are they good eating? If they are, you better get a big freezer!

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You may prepare a gar for the table if you wish but do not try gar caviar.