82 NORTHERN FISHES 



South Dakota through the Ohio Valley and south to Alabama and 

 Texas. Cox (1897) reported only two specimens for Minnesota, both 

 from the Mississippi River at ^Minneapolis. Wagner (1908) found it 

 rather rare at Lake Pepin. Several examples were secured from sloughs 

 in Goodhue County in 19121-23, and at least two examples were pro- 

 cured in a slough along the Minnesota River near Savage in 1920. 

 Numerous specimens from sloughs near Winona are in the University 

 of Minnesota collections. The farthest upstream record for the Missis- 

 sippi is a specimen collected by Friedrich (1933) from the Mississippi 

 River below St. Cloud. No specimens have been taken from the Mis- 

 sissippi River above St. Anthony Falls in recent years by the survey 

 crews. Greene (1935) reports it from the Mississippi drainage in Wis- 

 consin, including Lake St. Croix. 



Although it differs in no essential from the longnose gar as far as 

 breeding habits are concerned, the shortnose gar in southeastern Minne- 

 sota prefers grass-grown sloughs for its habitat, whereas the longnose 

 gar prefers more open sloughs and backwaters where there is no vegeta- 

 tion. Gars spawn in the spring, usually in June, in shallow water and 

 generally among grass and weeds. The eggs are a bright dark green 

 and are said to be poisonous. 



All species of gars frequently lie close to the surface, occasionally 

 gulping in air. They are notoriously predacious, preying on all kinds 

 of fish. Stealthily gliding alongside their prey, they seize it with an 

 easy sideswipe of their long, vicious jaws. Small fishes are swallowed 

 outright, but larger ones may be severed into two parts. Gars are very 

 rapacious and destroy large numbers of both forage and game fishes. 

 Their armor protects them from most other animals. 



Fishermen wage ceaseless warfare on the gar wherever possible, but 

 the cylindrical shape of their slender bodies, coupled with their activity, 

 makes them hard to hold in any ordinary net, and most of them escape 

 before a seine can be hauled. These predacious fishes occupy the place 

 of more important game fishes, consuming food that could be used by 

 northern pike, walleyes, and bass. Fortunately they seem to thrive best 

 in waters not highly suited to these more desirable species. 



The flesh of the gar is seldom used for food and has no commercial 

 value in the north. In some of the southern states the flesh is eaten to a 

 limited extent, and Dr. H. M. Smith (1907) stated that it is regularly 

 sold in the markets at New Bern, North Carolina. The flesh is white 

 and of rather fine grain, and there is no reason why it should not find a 

 ready market. 



In Louisiana a limited number of the skins are marketed annually; 

 they are used by the jewelry and novelty trade for covering picture 

 frames and boxes of various kinds. The horny cuticle of these skins is 

 very hard and may be polished smooth and even, retaining an ivory- 

 like finish (see Report, United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 



