Cuban gar:
Cuban scientists have taken restoration efforts in Cuba’s Zapata Swamp to save the Cuban gar from extinction.
- The Cuban gar (Atractosteus tristoechus), also known as the manjuarí, is a fish in the family Lepisosteidae.
- This fish is part of a family called “gars,” which have been around for about 100 million years.
- It is a tropical, freshwater species, although it also inhabits brackish water.
- Found in various habitats from large lakes and rivers to sluggish tributaries, backwaters and pools, and can survive in both fresh and brackish waters.
- It is found in rivers and lakes of western Cuba and the Isla de la Juventud.
- Gars are ambush predators feeding on smaller fishes and aquatic crustaceans in nature.
- It is also notable for its high tolerance of high ammonia and nitrate levels in water.
- It has the ability to breathe some atmospheric air in absence of sufficiently oxygenated water.
- Threats: Habitat loss, and introduction of invasive species African walking catfish.
- Conservation Status
- IUCN: Critically Endangered.
