The Trinity River, located in southern Texas and flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, is famous for its giant predatory gar—fish that can exceed three meters in length and possess dense scales resembling armor. This was reported by the Vokrug Sveta (Around the World) portal.
Recently, a local fisherman named Sebastian Benitez caught a unique hybrid of two gar species. In this instance, the female was an alligator gar and the male was a longnose gar. This was reported by the American news outlet Chron, citing information from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The fish’s appearance combines traits of both species: the alligator gar has a short, broad snout resembling a crocodile’s, whereas the longnose gar has a snout elongated into a narrow, needle-like shape. The hybrid, in turn, possesses an elongated, triangular snout.
Four species of gar inhabit Texas: spotted, shortnose, longnose, and alligator gar. These fish are aptly described as “living fossils,” as their ancestors appeared long before dinosaurs and humans.
Gars have a fascinating history: their lineage has existed for over 200 million years, with the divergence into distinct species occurring approximately 100 million years ago. A 2024 study described, for the first time, the biological mechanism explaining the slow evolution of certain animals. It revealed that some “living fossils” evolve more slowly, allowing them to interbreed with other species even if their common ancestor lived during the age of dinosaurs. The uniqueness of the hybrid between the alligator gar and the longnose gar lies in the fact that the evolutionary divergence between their parent species is the oldest among all animals, plants, and fungi. Such fish are extremely rare; the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department estimates that they make up only one to two percent of the total gar population. Another hybrid of these species was caught in the Trinity River in 2024.
In addition to their ancient lineage, gars are known for having the lowest rate of genetic mutations among jawed vertebrates. Researchers attribute this to their efficient DNA repair system. Interestingly, understanding these processes could aid in the development of cancer treatments for humans.
Scientists are working to identify the mechanisms that allow gars to effectively detect and repair DNA damage. In human cells, defects in DNA repair systems lead to the accumulation of mutations and genetic instability, which can contribute to tumor development. Therefore, studying the natural genome-protection mechanisms in these fish could offer new approaches to preventing the accumulation of dangerous mutations and improving repair systems in human cells.
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