Food Habits, Sex Ratios, and Size of Longnose Gar in Southwestern Oklahoma

Relatively little is known about the natural history of the longnose gar (Lepisosteus osseus), though it ranges extensively over the eastern United States and throughout Oklahoma. At Lake Texoma, Oklahoma, Echelle (1) and May (2) have studied foods of young-of-the-year and adults, respectively, and Echelle and Riggs (3) reported on several aspects of the biology of young gars. Gars have traditionally been considered "trash fish" and voracious predators of game fish. For instance, according to Scarnecchia (4), Indiana law once required that all gars taken from state waters be destroyed. Hussakof (5) described them as "highly predaceous fish that devour vast numbers of food and game fishes. " This view, however, is not supported by the available evidence. Gars are integral components of aquatic ecosystems, but investigations of their autecology and economic value are all but nonexistent. Potter (6) stated that "when soaked in brine overnight, baked gar are quite palatable. " In recent years, anglers and bowfishermen have shown more interest in them; their hard, diamond-shaped scales are useful to hobbyist and jeweler. To obtain further information on this species, we collected 142 longnose gar from two large streams in southwestern Oklahoma. Data on food contents, measurements, and sex ratios are presented. Nylon gill nets (1.5 × 15 m) and electroshock (produced by a 7.5-kW, 360-VDC, 20-A generator mounted in a 4.8-m boat) were used to collect 142 specimens at two locations along the North Fork of Red River i