Check out this photo from Coastal Fisheries with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department!
The alligator gars get their name from the tough scales and a snout full of sharp teeth that give it a prehistoric appearance, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine. They say scientists believe this species has survived largely unchanged since the days of the dinosaurs.
“It’s a unique fish, a misunderstood fish, and it’s had an unfounded bad rap,” says Dave Terre, chief of fisheries management and research at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
Texas is one of the few states that still have a healthy alligator gar population.
{"author_name":"Coastal Fisheries - Texas Parks and Wildlife","author_url":"https://www.facebook.com/TPWDCoastal/","provider_url":"https://www.facebook.com","provider_name":"Facebook","success":true,"height":null,"html":"&#lt;div id=\"fb-root\"&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;\n&#lt;script&#gt;(function(d, s, id) {\n var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n js.src = \"//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3\";\n fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));&#lt;/script&#gt;&#lt;div class=\"fb-post\" data-href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TPWDCoastal/photos/a.1503397079956984.1073741828.1502939960002696/1556187024677989/?type=3\" data-width=\"552\"&#gt;&#lt;div class=\"fb-xfbml-parse-ignore\"&#gt;&#lt;blockquote cite=\"https://www.facebook.com/TPWDCoastal/posts/1556187024677989:0\"&#gt;&#lt;p&#gt;Fish and wildlife technician, Kevin Willis, holds an alligator gar that was caught and released in Matagorda Bay. Alligator gars can grow up to 8 feet long, weigh more than 300 pounds and live for decades.&#lt;/p&#gt;Posted by &#lt;a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TPWDCoastal/\"&#gt;Coastal Fisheries - Texas Parks and Wildlife&#lt;/a&#gt; on &#lt;a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/TPWDCoastal/posts/1556187024677989:0\"&#gt;Monday, May 9, 2016&#lt;/a&#gt;&#lt;/blockquote&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;&#lt;/div&#gt;","type":"rich","version":"1.0","url":"https://www.facebook.com/TPWDCoastal/photos/a.1503397079956984.1073741828.1502939960002696/1556187024677989/?type=3","width":552}
