{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Speciesbox | name = Cuban gar | image = Atractosteus tristoechus 01.jpg | image2 = FMIB 51734 Alligator-gar, Lepisosteus tristaechus (Bluch) Cuba.jpeg | taxon = Atractosteus tristoechus | status = CR | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Lyons, T.J. |author2=Ulmo-Díaz, G. |author3=García-Machado, E. |author4=Ponce de León, J. |year=2021 |title=''Atractosteus tristoechus'' |article-number=e.T46104013A124286091 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T46104013A124286091.en}}</ref> | authority = (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) | range_map = Atractosteus tristoechus Map.jpg | synonyms = * ''Esox tristoechus'' <small>Bloch & Schneider, 1801</small> * ''Lepisosteus tristoechus'' <small>(Bloch & Schneider, 1801)</small> * ''Lepidosteus manjuari'' <small>Poey, 1853</small> | synonyms_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|last1=Froese|first1=R.|last2=Pauly|first2=D.|year=2017|title=Lepisosteidae |url=http://www.fishbase.se/Summary/FamilySummary.php?ID=34|website=FishBase version (02/2017)|accessdate=18 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://deeplyfish.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Family-Lepisosteidae-PDF.pdf|title=Lepisosteidae |website=Deeplyfish- fishes of the world|accessdate=18 May 2017}}</ref> }} The '''Cuban gar''' ('''''Atractosteus tristoechus'''''), also known as the ''manjuarí'', is a fish in the family Lepisosteidae.<ref>{{ITIS|id=571692|taxon=''Atractosteus tristoechus''|access-date=15 January 2023}}</ref> It is a tropical, freshwater species, although it also inhabits brackish water.<ref name=":0" /> It is found in rivers and lakes of western Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud.<ref name=":0">{{FishBase |Atractosteus|tristoechus |month= September|year= 2012}}</ref> The flesh of the fish is edible, but the eggs are poisonous for humans.<ref name="Lee">{{cite book|author=Lee, D.S.|author2= S.P. Platania |author3= G.H. Burgess|year= 1983|title= Atlas of North American freshwater fishes, 1983 supplement |series=Occasional Papers of the North Carolina Biological Survey no. 1983-6|publisher= North Carolina State Museum of Natural History|location= Raleigh, N.C.}}</ref>
Cuban gar spawn seasonally in the floodplains of large rivers.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal|author=Dean B. |year=1895|title= The early development of gar-pike and sturgeon|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=11|pages= 1–53 |doi=10.1002/jmor.1050110102 |bibcode=1895JMorp..11....1D }}</ref>
== Behavior == Cuban gar typically hunt alone and avoid other members of their species. The exception to this is during spawning season, when larger parties of around 20 gar form to hunt. Sometimes, the groups break up into smaller groups, and two to eight males accompany a female. ''Atractosteus'' gar species generally have sex ratios skewed towards males (in the cases of tropical gar or alligator gar), although research has yet to show this trend in the Cuban gar.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Holloway A. |year=1954|title= Notes on the Life History and Management of the Shortnose and Lognose Gars in Florida Waters|journal=Journal of Wildlife Management |volume=18|issue=4 |pages= 440–449 |doi=10.2307/3797079 |jstor=3797079 |bibcode=1954JWMan..18..438H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Reséndez A. |author2= Salvadores M. |year=1983 |title=Contribución al Conocimiento de la Biología de Pejelagarto ''Atractosteus tropicus'' (Gill) y la Tenguayaca ''Petenia splendida'' (Günther) del Estado de Tabasco|journal=Biotica|volume=8|pages= 413–426 |lang=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Morales G. |year=1987|title= Reproducción y Desarrollo Embriológico del Catán (''Lepisosteus spatula'' Lacepede): Primeros Resultados|publisher=Secrtería de Pesca|pages= 41–70|series= Manual Técnico para el aprovechamiento de existencias silvestres|location= México, D.F.|lang=es}}</ref>
== Morphology == Adult Cuban gars are typically around {{cvt|1|m|ft}} in length, but can grow as large as {{cvt|2|m|ft}}. There is no known variance in length relative to sex. This places it as the second largest extant species of gar, after the alligator gar.<ref name=":1" />
The Cuban gar, along with other species of gar, is also notable for its high tolerance of high ammonia and nitrate levels in water,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Boudreaux P.|author2= Ferrara A. |author3= Fontenot Q. |year=2007|title= Chloride inhibition of nitrite uptake for non-teleost Actinopterygiian fishes |journal= Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A |volume=147|issue= 2 |pages= 420–423 |doi= 10.1016/j.cbpa.2007.01.016 |pmid= 17344081 }}</ref> its ability to breathe some atmospheric air in absence of sufficiently oxygenated water,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hill L. |author2=Renfro J. |author3= Reynolds R. |year=1972|title= Effects of dissolved oxygen tensions upon the rate of young spotted gar, ''Lepisosteus oculatus'' (Lepisosteidae)|journal=The Southwestern Naturalist|volume=17 |pages=273–278 |doi=10.2307/3670174 |jstor=3670174 }}</ref> and its disease resistance.<ref>{{cite report|author=León R.|author2= Aguiar R. |author3= Hernández I. |year=1978|title=Estudio sobre la biología y el cultivo artificial del manjuarí (''Atractosteus tristoechus'') Bloch y Schneider|institution=Dirección Ramal de Acuicultura|number= Investigación No. 85|lang=es}}</ref>
=== Larval development === After hatching, Cuban gar larvae undergo three stages of organogenesis and development: attached (days 1–3), transitional (days 4–10), and free-swimming (days 11–18).<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|author=Comabella Y |author2=Mendoza R|author3= Aguilera C|author4= Carrillo O|author5= Hurtado A|author6= García-Galano T |journal=Fish Physiology and Biochemistry|year=2006|title=Digestive enzyme activity during early larval development of the Cuban gar ''Atractosteus tristoechus''|volume=32|issue=2|pages=147–157|doi=10.1007/s10695-006-0007-4|bibcode=2006FPBio..32..147C }}</ref> During the attached stage, the larvae develop rudimentary intestines, stomachs, pancreases, and esophagi that help the larvae transition from feeding off the egg yolk to normal feeding, which begins during the transitional phase. The transitional phase is marked by further development of these organs and a lack of obvious yolk.
During this phase, teeth also develop. Once separation occurs between the stomach and intestines—increased organ size and complexity, and completely exotrophic behavior has arisen—the larvae are considered "free swimming".<ref name=":2" /> While they are larvae, Cuban gar grow from around {{cvt|1.5|cm|1|abbr=on}} in length in the attached phase, to {{cvt|4|cm|abbr=on}} in length in the free-swimming phase.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}
== Ecology == Like other species of gars, Cuban gar are top-level predators in freshwater ecosystems.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal|author=Mendoza Alfaro, R.|author2= González, C. A. |author3= Ferrara, A. M. |year=2008|title= Gar biology and culture: status and prospects|journal= Aquaculture Research|volume= 39|issue= 7 |pages= 748–763 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2109.2008.01927.x |bibcode= 2008AqRes..39..748M }}</ref> Adults feed on freshwater fishes and birds. Young are prey to the introduced largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides''). As an animal with a high trophic level, the gar has lost much of its population due to overfishing and habitat loss. Attempts to restore natural fish populations using them in aquaculture are currently in progress,<ref name=":3" /> but these ideas have yet to reach implementation.
Cuban gar are currently under research for use in broodstocking, both due to the threatened status of gar species and due to the potentially valuable role of gar in reducing the pressure of fisheries on natural aquatic ecosystems.<ref>{{cite book|author=Mendoza R.|author2= Aguilera C.|author3= Rodríguez G. |author4= Márquez G. |year=2000|chapter= Estrategias para la domesticación de especies en acuacultura: El catán (''Atractosteus spatula'')|title=Redes Nacionales de Investigación en Acuacultura, Memorias de la V Reunion |editor=Ramírez-FloresÁlvarez Torres |editor2= Torres-RodríguezY Mora-Cervantes|pages= 95–102 |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Pesca-SEMARNAP|location= Distrito Federal, México|lang=es}}</ref> No implementation of Cuban gar broodstocking for ecological protection has yet occurred, however.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1790887}}
Category:Lepisosteidae Category:Freshwater fish of Cuba Category:Fish of the Caribbean Category:Endemic fauna of Cuba Category:Apex predators Category:Fish described in 1801 Category:Taxa named by Marcus Elieser Bloch Category:Taxa named by Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider