This is one of seven species of living gars in the world that are very primitive, having changed very little over millions of years. Note the unique designs of the individual skull bones and the specialized “beak.” This species can reach 5 feet in length in Minnesota; farther south in the Mississippi River, the closely related Alligator gar attains a total length exceeding 6 feet and a weight of 300 lbs! The rhomboid shaped scales of gars are strong and like armor, even impenetrable by a knife. Gars floating near the surface resemble sticks, lunging out to seize fish swimming too close. They also surface to gulp air. This specimen has been used to identify unknown fish bones submitted for identification.

I am deeply impressed with the diversity of structures and geometric patterns of the individual bones of fish skulls. This, I believe, is one of the most elegant specimens in those respects.