The Mississippi River floodplains are home to one of Earth’s most impressive river monsters: the alligator gar. Known to science as Atractosteus spatula , it is the largest of the gar species alive today and among the largest fish in North America. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Dr Solomon David , AKA “The Gar Guy”, has had more experience than most with these freshwater giants. So, when he messages you to say his team recently caught “the largest alligator gar I’ve encountered,” you pay attention – especially during #GarWeek .

In a post shared on X and Bluesky, David shared pictures of the 240-centimeter (7-foot 10-inch) alligator gar in all its glory. At around 136 kilograms (300 pounds), it had the research

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