Fish Iowa - Fish Species

Species Information

Characteristics

Olive to dark green above and white or silvery below. There are large round black spots on the dorsal, anal and caudal or tail fins. The whole body is covered with thick rhombic scales, and the snout is extended into a long, slender beak. Length of this beak is from 15 to 20 times its least width. There are usually 8 rays in the dorsal fin, and 8 or 9 in the anal fin. There are 60 to 63 diamond-shaped scales in the lateral line.

Foods

fish is the main food; a small part of their diet is crayfish and insects

Expert Tip

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Details

The Longnose Gar spawns in May and June when the water temperature reaches 70 degrees. Spawning takes place in shallow water of lakes or streams over weed beds or gravel. A large female (40-inches) may produce more than 36,000 large eggs up to 2/6-3/6 mm in diameter. The eggs hatch in 6 days at 68 degrees. Growth is very fast with young-of-the-year reaching an average of 18.1-inches. Females grow faster than males. Male longnose mature at 3-4 years of age and females 2 years later. It will live to be 30 years old and reach a maximum length of 56-inches.

Recent stream sampling information is available from Iowa DNR's biological monitoring and assessment program.

Species Distribution

Distribution Map

Iowa water body distribution image of Longnose Gar

Similar to that of the shortnoses, but more widely distributed. With the exception of the boundary waters, it is rare in numbers; a single fish often makes up an interior stream collection.

See our most recent distribution data for this species on the Iowa DNR's Bionet application.