in the spring during April, May, and June, when water temperatures are between . Often accompanied by more than one male, females scatter large, yellowish-green eggs in quiet, shallow water among submerged vegetation or other underwater structures. A sticky adhesive holds the eggs together in clumps where they hatch after eight to 9 days. The eggs are poisonous to birds and mammals, including humans. The young remain in the yolk sac for another week, then they feed on insect larvae and small crustaceans. Young gar typically lead solitary lives and sexual maturity is achieved around three years of age when the gar reaches about in length. Diet and habits Shortnose gar are efficient, fierce, ambush predators. They feed mainly on fish, but they are very opportunistic and also eat crayfish, insects, and other invertebrates. Despite feeding mainly on whatever fish are available, shortnose gar eat more invertebrates than any other gar and have even been found to exhibit territorial defense behaviors around favorable pools while foraging on high numbers of periodical cicadas. Distribution Shortnose gar today are only located in North America. Located mainly in the central United States, they occupy much of the Mississippi and Missouri River basins ranging from Montana (in the west) to the Ohio River (in the east) in the north and the Gulf Coast from Louisiana and Alabama to parts of Texas in the south. Importance to humans Shortnose gar help maintain ecosystem equilibrium by feeding on minnows that are destructive to game fish and other fish populations. They are popular aquarium fish, and are frequently found in public aquariums across the country. Conservation status With very few natural predators able to cope with a gar's thick ganoid scale armor, shortnose gar are generally plentiful. One exception is in Montana, where they are considered a fish of special concern due to restricted distribution and limited population sizes. In Ohio, they are an endangered species because of limited range (primarily the Ohio River and lower Scioto and Great Miami Rivers). Etymology of name In Greek, Lepisosteus translates to "bony scale", and platostomus translates to "broad mouth". References Lepisosteidae Freshwater fish of the United States Fish described in 1820 Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque