'Crooked' fish with bent spine discovered in Florida springs: 'Interesting shape'
FWC biologists discovered a crooked gar in Silver Glen Springs. (Photo: FWC)
MARION COUNTY, Fla. - Last month, a Titusville father-and-son duo hooked a "squiggly" shark with an apparent tail deformity. Now, Florida biologists are sharing a new discovery – a "crooked" longnose gar.
Biologists with the FWC's Wildlife Research Institute caught a longnose gar with an apparent crooked spine during an electrofishing survey in Silver Glen Springs in Marion County. They shared a photo of the fish, whose spine looks to be bent in the middle.
The FWC said the fish, which was measured at nearly 3 feet long and over 10 pounds, likely had a spinal injury at some point in its life.
'Squiggly shark' with 'rare' deformity hooked in Titusville: 'I feel bad keeping this one'
A "squiggly shark" with an apparent tail deformity was discovered in Titusville earlier this month – and researchers have revealed a possible explanation to why the big fish looks the way it does.
"With their razor-sharp teeth and armor-like scales, longnose gar may look scary, but they are no threat to humans, and they play an important role as an apex predator in many of Florida’s freshwater ecosystems," the FWC said.