Gar? or not to Gar?

[E_americanus]

The fork in that particular gar's tail is abnormal; it was probably the result of a bite from a tankmate or a tear in the tail.

Young-of-the-year (YOY) gars have a filament above their tail which could be mistaken for a fork such as in this picture.

i agree on the forked tail issue, that t-gar that was linked is just an abnormality, likely caused by fin damage or potential birth defect. gars don't have forked tails at any point in development, they have the tail filament, but that's not a true forked tail.

also, regarding the fish in the OP - it's a pike characin and definitely not a true gar. i don't know a ton about the pike characins, but that one definitely looks unusual!

nice job on the diagnostic photos Ryan, definitely detailed - Richard posted something like that that has been pinned (and i did in the AP gar keys), unfortunately no one ever reads them...

an additional diagnostic that is used is that true gars have an elongation of the snout in the ethmoid region of the skull, a trait specific to gars...the more practical application of this diagnostic is that the nostrils are at the tip of the snout...in "false" gars the nostrils are up by the eyes.--
--solomon

 

[lix.ma14]

that IS a marbled gar. the thing is, the marbled gar is not a true gar. The marbled gar is the characin family.

 

[channarox]

I hate common names.

Ctenolucius Beani.

 

[Kyle_91]

lol, i dont like scientific names...
too confusing and hard to pronounce.

 

[channarox]

lol, i dont like scientific names...
too confusing and hard to pronounce.

Hard to pronounce, maybe, since it isn't English.

But definitely not confusing, which common names are.

Three or four different species could have the same common name, but never the same scientific name.

 

[Kyle_91]

Hard to pronounce, maybe, since it isn't English.

But definitely not confusing, which common names are.

Three or four different species could have the same common name, but never the same scientific name.

True.
I was just used to always saying common names though...
It's probably best to know scientific names anyway.

 

[Industrial]

100% Ctenolucius beani this fish may just be a subspecies of the typical hujeta gar (C. hujeta) or it's own species. I believe this is being debated among the science community.

I always visit the wholesale department at the LFS I work at and we occasionally get these mixed in with batches of "Marbled Gars" which are typically Boulengerella maculata and less often B. lateristriga.

The characin you have above, is much less skittish than the two species normally sold as Marbled Gars and much harder to find. Congrats!

 

[TrollK1ng]

I have one of these also and watching him eat is really interesting. When I attempt to research him I get information calling him a gar and then just the opposite. He was advertised as a "Marble Gar" and was in the tank with another of the same species. I have found multiple sites that call him a pike of some sorts and others that call him Boulengerella Maculata.... I just don't know but he's fun to have.