In anticipation of my upcoming trip to Villahermosa (Tabasco state, Mexico), here is a great video put together by colleagues at the tropical gar aquaculture farm (Otot-Ibam) highlighting their gar production. Great shots/sequences of gar development and the culture process. I’ll be presenting at the 4th International Meeting on Lepisosteid Research in mid-June, and we’ll get to tour the farm as well as participate in workshops.
Tropical gar (Atractosteus tropicus) Aquaculture
Research on alligator gars at Nicholls State University & LSU
Students (from left) Paige O’Malley, Matthew Moroney and Courtney Stauderman remove an alligator gar from a holding tank at the LSU AgCenter Aquaculture Research Station in Baton Rouge. The gar were spawned in holding tanks as part of a research project studying methods of rearing the fish in captivity.
Photo: Craig Gautreaux/LSU AgCenter
-via Sara Strassman & Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee
This is an example of a combination of unusual genetic conditions expressed in fishes and other organisms. Xanthochroism is a condition where all pigments other than yellow and orange are absent or minimally expressed. Melanism is an excess of dark pigmentation. This fish is a combination of the two conditions; it has previously been observed in gars, and the combination of colors seems to be most apparent during spawning season.
This site is dedicated to the ecology, natural history, and conservation of primitive bony fishes: the lungfishes, bichirs, sturgeons, paddlefishes, gars, and bowfin.
The site is continuously being updated and currently being transitioned from the older site version. Profiles on each species, more photos, and additional information will be added soon.
Thanks for visiting!
~Solomon David (E_americanus)
Solomon R David, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of Natural Resources & Environment
University of Michigan
PRIMITIVE FISHES 