alligator gar

American  

noun

1. a large, heavily scaled fish, Lepisosteus spatula, with an elongated body and long snout, found mainly in shallow weedy fresh water in the southeastern U.S.

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Etymology

Origin of alligator gar

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

Local authorities identified it as an alligator gar — a torpedo-shaped freshwater fish with razor-sharp teeth — and launched an operation to capture it.

From Washington Post • Aug. 25, 2022

According to the department, alligator gar can weigh more than 300 pounds and measure more than eight feet long.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 14, 2021

The researchers also sequenced the bichir, an elongated, air-breathing, ray-finned fish that lives in the shallows of tropical African rivers, as well as the American paddlefish, the bowfin, and the alligator gar.

From Science Magazine • Feb. 10, 2021

A man in Oklahoma caught a huge alligator gar in a lake over the weekend, the Oklahoma Game Wardens announced Monday.

From Fox News • Apr. 22, 2019

"What else is going to be able to eat those monster carp?" said Allyse Ferrara, an alligator gar expert at Nicholls State University in Louisiana, where the species is relatively common.

From US News • Jul. 29, 2016