Texas' Trinity River is already famous for producing some monster gar. However, a recent catch was unusual for a different reason.
Angler Sebastian Benitez recently reeled in a rare hybrid between a female alligator gar and a male longnose gar while fishing the Trinity River, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
At first glance, the fish looks like someone split the difference between the two species.
Alligator gar have short, broad snouts reminiscent of their namesake reptile, while longnose gar sport extremely long, narrow, needle-like snouts. TPWD said the hybrid's elongated, triangular snout is one of the telltale signs that it carries traits from both.
Texas is home to four gar species: spotted, shortnose, longnose and alligator gar. They belong to an ancient lineage of fish that has been around long before humans, or even Tyrannosaurus rex.
"Gars have existed for more than 200 million years, diverging into separate species about 100 million years ago," TPWD wrote. "But due to their incredibly slow rate of evolution, hybrids can happen (though rare)."
But just how rare? In 2024, a Nicholls State University master's student caught and released another alligator gar-longnose gar hybrid from the Trinity River. At the time, TPWD biologist Dan Daugherty told Chron that hybrids account for only about one to two percent of gar populations.
The pairing is especially remarkable because of how long ago the two species split from a common ancestor. According to IFLScience, the alligator gar-longnose gar hybrid represents the oldest identified parental split known among animals, plants and fungi.
And gar may have more going for them than surviving virtually unchanged for millions of years.
TPWD said the fish have the lowest known genetic mutation rate among jawed vertebrates, something researchers believe is tied to an unusually effective DNA repair system.
"They have the lowest known genetic mutation rate of jawed vertebrates, thanks to an exceptionally efficient DNA repair system," the agency wrote. "Understanding these DNA repair pathways may have promising implications for cancer research!"
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This article originally published at Texas fisherman reels in bizarre catch from prehistoric fish family.