Lepisosteidae

Gars are an ancient group of ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. They comprise seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine waters of eastern North America, Central America and Cuba in the Caribbean, though extinct members of the family were more widespread. They are the only surviving members of the Ginglymodi, a clade of fish which first appeared during the Triassic period, over 240 million years ago, and are one of only two surviving groups of holosteian fish, alongside the bowfins, which have a similar distribution.

Lepisosteidae

Uncredited · Public Domain · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
LepisosteoideaPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Lepisosteiformes
Life habit
nektonicPBDB, for Lepisosteiformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Lepisosteiformes
Environment
freshwaterPBDB, for Lepisosteiformes

Time the record covers

At least 149 million years on record.

The record covers at least 149.2 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 154.8 Mya to 0 Mya.

Late Jurassic — about 1 of 703 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 7 of 703 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 467 of 703 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 42 of 703 occurrencesEocene — about 115 of 703 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 2 of 703 occurrencesMiocene — about 30 of 703 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 3 of 703 occurrencesPleistocene — about 32 of 703 occurrences158–153 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences153–147 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences147–142 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences142–137 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences137–132 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences126–121 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences121–116 Mya — about 1 occurrence116–111 Mya — about 2 occurrences111–105 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences105–100 Mya — about 2 occurrences100–95 Mya — about 7 occurrences95–89 Mya — about 15 occurrences89–84 Mya — about 17 occurrences84–79 Mya — about 75 occurrences79–74 Mya — about 79 occurrences74–68 Mya — about 175 occurrences68–63 Mya — about 129 occurrences63–58 Mya — about 8 occurrences58–53 Mya — about 54 occurrences53–47 Mya — about 32 occurrences47–42 Mya — about 13 occurrences42–37 Mya — about 13 occurrences37–32 Mya — about 6 occurrences32–26 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences26–21 Mya — about 4 occurrences21–16 Mya — about 4 occurrences16–11 Mya — about 17 occurrences11–5.3 Mya — about 7 occurrences5.3–0 Mya — about 38 occurrences149.2 Mya11.7 ka158 Mya0 Mya

703 occurrences of Lepisosteidae on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

703 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

168 formations

Hell Creek — 47.80°N, 106.10°WHell Creek — 47.68°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 46.03°N, 103.77°WHell Creek — 46.21°N, 103.77°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.94°WHell Creek — 46.10°N, 103.30°WHell Creek — 46.46°N, 104.02°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.94°N, 103.95°WHell Creek — 45.53°N, 101.63°WHell Creek — 47.88°N, 106.20°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.13°WHell Creek — 47.62°N, 107.32°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.98°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 107.10°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.40°WHell Creek — 47.58°N, 106.30°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.25°WHell Creek — 47.53°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.07°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.23°WHell Creek — 46.90°N, 101.50°WHell Creek — 47.61°N, 106.90°WHell Creek — 45.73°N, 104.89°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.98°WHell Creek — 45.66°N, 105.08°WHell Creek — 45.89°N, 104.55°WHell Creek — 45.50°N, 103.10°WHell Creek — 45.64°N, 103.49°WHell Creek — 45.00°N, 103.19°WHell Creek — 47.72°N, 106.53°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 107.18°WHell Creek — 47.27°N, 107.13°WWillwood — 43.95°N, 107.57°WWillwood — 44.30°N, 109.00°WWillwood — 44.15°N, 107.86°WWillwood — 44.58°N, 108.90°WWillwood — 44.83°N, 109.09°WWillwood — 44.50°N, 108.67°WWillwood — 44.56°N, 108.70°WWillwood — 44.55°N, 108.63°WWillwood — 44.59°N, 108.41°WWillwood — 44.52°N, 108.58°WWillwood — 44.65°N, 108.90°WWillwood — 44.42°N, 108.74°WWillwood — 44.41°N, 108.79°WWillwood — 44.33°N, 108.77°WWillwood — 44.60°N, 108.79°WWillwood — 44.66°N, 108.79°WWillwood — 44.68°N, 108.71°WFerris — 41.94°N, 106.88°WFerris — 41.80°N, 107.00°WFerris — 41.96°N, 106.89°WDinosaur Park — 50.81°N, 111.32°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.40°WDinosaur Park — 50.81°N, 111.63°WDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.74°N, 111.49°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.46°WLance — 43.35°N, 104.48°WLance — 43.30°N, 104.37°WLance — 43.12°N, 104.64°WLance — 41.57°N, 108.67°WLance — 43.18°N, 104.53°WLance — 43.15°N, 104.57°WLance — 43.13°N, 104.49°WLance — 43.80°N, 104.62°WLance — 45.75°N, 101.20°WLance — 45.04°N, 108.80°WLance — 43.25°N, 104.65°WLance — 43.00°N, 104.50°WLance — 45.39°N, 103.70°WLance — 43.49°N, 104.46°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.51°WOldman — 49.10°N, 110.94°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.84°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.68°WOldman — 49.16°N, 110.72°WOldman — 50.83°N, 111.32°WOldman — 49.07°N, 110.45°WAguja — 29.14°N, 103.20°WAguja — 29.32°N, 103.52°WAguja — 29.30°N, 103.57°WGreen River — 41.78°N, 110.73°WGreen River — 39.96°N, 111.40°WGreen River — 42.13°N, 110.13°WGreen River — 39.95°N, 111.35°WJudith River — 48.93°N, 110.58°WJudith River — 48.97°N, 110.55°WJudith River — 46.46°N, 109.41°WJudith River — 46.10°N, 109.10°WJudith River — 47.72°N, 109.64°WJudith River — 43.64°N, 109.35°WNorth Horn — 39.10°N, 111.80°WNorth Horn — 39.18°N, 111.27°WNorth Horn — 39.00°N, 111.00°WKirtland — 36.28°N, 108.18°WKirtland — 36.34°N, 108.06°WKirtland — 36.51°N, 108.32°WFrenchman — 49.50°N, 109.10°WFrenchman — 49.04°N, 106.60°WFrenchman — 49.40°N, 107.40°WFrenchman — 49.52°N, 108.82°WFrenchman — 49.00°N, 110.55°WFrenchman — 49.30°N, 108.40°WBermont — 27.70°N, 82.50°WMilk River — 49.08°N, 111.44°WMilk River — 49.10°N, 111.80°WLa Colonia — 42.96°S, 67.54°WValentine — 42.78°N, 100.03°WValentine — 42.79°N, 100.07°WValentine — 42.49°N, 98.11°WValentine — 42.60°N, 98.00°WFleming — 31.00°N, 93.40°WFleming — 30.75°N, 95.27°WFleming — 30.70°N, 94.70°WFleming — 31.05°N, 93.21°WFruitland — 36.49°N, 108.49°WFruitland — 36.27°N, 108.26°WFort Union — 44.68°N, 108.44°WFort Union — 43.85°N, 108.35°WFort Union — 46.05°N, 104.48°WFort Union — 46.90°N, 101.50°WFort Union — 47.60°N, 107.00°WIron Springs — 37.81°N, 112.81°WIron Springs — 37.57°N, 113.43°WIron Springs — 37.90°N, 112.74°WStraight Cliffs — 37.70°N, 113.00°WStraight Cliffs — 37.60°N, 111.97°WStraight Cliffs — 37.80°N, 111.50°WStraight Cliffs — 37.18°N, 111.58°WOjo Alamo — 36.24°N, 108.89°WOjo Alamo — 36.30°N, 108.03°WOjo Alamo — 36.29°N, 108.10°WGoliad — 28.60°N, 97.70°WGoliad — 28.49°N, 97.67°WConques — 42.15°N, 1.00°EConques — 42.09°N, 0.69°E

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Lepisosteidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 144 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 70 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Lepisosteidae and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Lepisosteidae and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

2,297 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 648 sites for Lepisosteidae, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

316 references

Each of the 703 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 304 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Lepisosteidae

Credit
nobody named on the record
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan was found. Smithsonian Open Access, MorphoSource and Sketchfab were all searched.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itLepisosteoidea through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Cuvier 1825)