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A Brief Guide to Differentiating Spotted Gars from Florida Gars
To begin bluntly, Spotted gars are not Florida gars, and Florida gars are not Spotted gars.
Florida gars (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) are a completely different species from Spotted gars (Lepisosteus oculatus). Although prior publications and general knowledge have said otherwise, many apparent physical traits can differentiate Florida gar from spotted gar. They do not look exactly alike.
To this day, Florida gars are much more commonly sold in pet stores than spotted gars. It’s more than likely that if you got your gar from a pet store and you don’t know whether it’s a Florida gar or a spotted gar, chances are it’s a Florida gar. But recently, more spotted gars have been showing up for sale in the exotic fish market, leading to increased confusion in the differentiation of the species. We need to identify and differentiate these fantastic species of ancient fish correctly.
Keep in mind that this guide works best for wild-caught fish, as captive breeding can change the physical appearance of the fish, especially if there is inbreeding. However, you can still apply my points to captive-bred fish, but so that you know, there may be some inconsistencies. Identifying Florida gars from spotted gars may be difficult at first, but it gets easier with practice. It is largely based on a trained eye.
Note the word “tend” in my upcoming descriptions. Gars vary in physical appearance across their species. A Florida gar can have traits that resemble a spotted gar and vice versa. These points are what I have generally noticed to be the most consistent differentiation aspects of each species.
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Gar Fin Guide:
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#1 Pelvic Fin Spotting
In my opinion this is the most reliable
Florida gars tend to have either no spots or only a few spots on their pelvic fins.
Florida gar with a pelvic fin with no spots
Florida gar with a pelvic fin with a few large spots
Florida gar typically either have a no spots or a few spots on their pelvic fins
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Spotted gars tend to have many small spots on their pelvic fin
Spotted gar with heavily spotted pelvic fins
Another example
Pectoral, anal, dorsal, and caudal fin spotting can also be looked at with the same guidelines applied. However, they are less reliable.
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#2 Back Patterns
Florida gar backs tend to have a “checkboard” or a "scattered spot" back pattern. The "scattered spot" back pattern can have very circular spots or very organically shaped spots. Just know that the spots are often clearly seperated from each other.
"Checkerboard"
"Scattered spot"
"Scattered spot" This piece has more circular ones
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Spotted gars tend to have a "mosaic marble" spot back pattern. The spots typically almost seem to mold into each other.
Spotted gar "mosaic marble" backs
Another example
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#3 Beak Length
Florida gars tend to have shorter, wider beaks.
Stocky-nosed Florida gar
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Spotted gars tend to have longer, skinnier beaks.
Slender-nosed spotted gar
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Comparison Photo Album
Florida gar top, spotted gar bottom
Spotted gar top, Florida gar bottom
Spotted gar left, 2 Florida gar right
2 spotted gar left, Florida gar right
Florida gar top and middle, Spotted gar bottom
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
A Brief Guide to Differentiating Spotted Gars from Florida Gars
To begin bluntly, Spotted gars are not Florida gars, and Florida gars are not Spotted gars.
Florida gars (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) are a completely different species from Spotted gars (Lepisosteus oculatus). Although prior publications and general knowledge have said otherwise, many apparent physical traits can differentiate Florida gar from spotted gar. They do not look exactly alike.
To this day, Florida gars are much more commonly sold in pet stores than spotted gars. It’s more than likely that if you got your gar from a pet store and you don’t know whether it’s a Florida gar or a spotted gar, chances are it’s a Florida gar. But recently, more spotted gars have been showing up for sale in the exotic fish market, leading to increased confusion in the differentiation of the species. We need to identify and differentiate these fantastic species of ancient fish correctly.
Keep in mind that this guide works best for wild-caught fish, as captive breeding can change the physical appearance of the fish, especially if there is inbreeding. However, you can still apply my points to captive-bred fish, but so that you know, there may be some inconsistencies. Identifying Florida gars from spotted gars may be difficult at first, but it gets easier with practice. It is largely based on a trained eye.
Note the word “tend” in my upcoming descriptions. Gars vary in physical appearance across their species. A Florida gar can have traits that resemble a spotted gar and vice versa. These points are what I have generally noticed to be the most consistent differentiation aspects of each species.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Gar Fin Guide:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#1 Pelvic Fin Spotting
In my opinion this is the most reliable
Florida gars tend to have either no spots or only a few spots on their pelvic fins.
Florida gar with a pelvic fin with no spots
Florida gar with a pelvic fin with a few large spots
Florida gar typically either have a no spots or a few spots on their pelvic fins
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spotted gars tend to have many small spots on their pelvic fin
Spotted gar with heavily spotted pelvic fins
Another example
Pectoral, anal, dorsal, and caudal fin spotting can also be looked at with the same guidelines applied. However, they are less reliable.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
#2 Back Patterns
Florida gar backs tend to have a “checkboard” or a "scattered spot" back pattern. The "scattered spot" back pattern can have very circular spots or very organically shaped spots. Just know that the spots are often clearly seperated from each other.
"Checkerboard"
"Scattered spot"
"Scattered spot" This piece has more circular ones
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spotted gars tend to have a "mosaic marble" spot back pattern. The spots typically almost seem to mold into each other.
Spotted gar "mosaic marble" backs
Another example
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
#3 Beak Length
Florida gars tend to have shorter, wider beaks.
Stocky-nosed Florida gar
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spotted gars tend to have longer, skinnier beaks.
Slender-nosed spotted gar
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Comparison Photo Album
Florida gar top, spotted gar bottom
Spotted gar top, Florida gar bottom
Spotted gar left, 2 Florida gar right
2 spotted gar left, Florida gar right
Florida gar top and middle, Spotted gar bottom
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