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101-463: The alligator gar ( Atractosteus spatula ) is a euryhaline ray-finned fish in the clade Ginglymodi of the infraclass Holostei / h oʊ ˈ l ɒ s t i aɪ / , being most closely related to the bowfins . It is the largest species in the gar family (Lepisosteidae), and is among the largest freshwater fish in North America . The fossil record traces its group's existence back to

202-507: A trumpet interchange with Interstate 10 in Toyah, Texas . Vicksburg has a humid subtropical climate with mild winters and hot, humid summers. As of the 2022 American Community Survey , there are 8,092 estimated households in Vicksburg with an average of 2.57 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $ 45,147. Approximately 25.5% of the city's population lives at or below

303-534: A black Republican meeting celebrating Crosby's victory and held him in custody before running him out of town. He advised blacks from rural areas to return home; along the way, some were attacked by armed whites. During the next several days, armed white mobs swept through black areas, killing other men at home or out in the fields, in what would come to be known as the Vicksburg massacre . Sources differ as to total fatalities, with 29–50 blacks and 2 whites reported dead at

404-500: A broad range of salinities; fish with this ability are known as euryhaline species, e.g., salmon . Salmon has been observed to inhabit two utterly disparate environments — marine and fresh water — and it is inherent to adapt to both by bringing in behavioral and physiological modifications. Some marine fish, like sharks, have adopted a different, efficient mechanism to conserve water, i.e., osmoregulation. They retain urea in their blood in relatively higher concentration. Urea

505-495: A combination railroad-highway bridge was built in 1929. After 1973, Interstate 20 bridged the river. Freight rail traffic still crosses by the old bridge. North-south transportation links are by the Mississippi River and U.S. Highway 61 . Vicksburg has the only crossing over the Mississippi River between Greenville and Natchez, and the only interstate highway crossing of the river between Baton Rouge and Memphis . During

606-486: A congressional committee investigated what was called the "Vicksburg Riot" at the time (and reported as the "Vicksburg massacre" by northern newspapers.) Testimony from both black and white residents was given, as reported by the New York Times , but no one was ever prosecuted for the deaths. The Red Shirts and other white insurgents suppressed Republican voting by both whites and blacks; smaller-scale riots were staged in

707-759: A double row of teeth on their upper jaws. They are usually brown or olive colored, fading to a lighter gray or yellow ventral surface. The dorsal and anal fins are positioned toward the back of their bodies, and their caudal fins are abbreviate heterocercal , or nonsymmetrical. Alligator gar have gills , but unlike other species of fish, with few exceptions, they also have a highly vascularized swim bladder lung that supplements gill respiration. The bladder not only provides buoyancy , but also enables them to breathe in air. This capability allows alligator gar to inhabit stagnant and/or insufficiently aerated bodies of water that are poorly oxygenated or hypoxic , in which most other fishes would die of suffocation due to

808-527: A few days are needed for the eggs to hatch into larval fish, and another 10 days or so for the larval fish to detach from the vegetation, and start moving about as young fry. Egg production is variable, and believed to be dependent on the size of the female. A common formula used for predicting the number of eggs a female can produce is 4.1 eggs/gram of body weight, which gives an average of about 150,000 eggs per spawn. The eggs of alligator gar are bright red and poisonous to humans if ingested. Alligator gar inhabit

909-410: A high yield of white-meat fillets and a small percentage of waste relative to body weight. Fried gar balls, grilled filets, and fillets boiled in water with crab boil are popular dishes in the southern United States. There is also a small cottage industry that designs and sells jewelry made from the ganoid scales of alligator gar; some tan the hides to produce leather for making lamp shades, purses and

1010-630: A host of other novelty items. Historically, the price of wild gar meat sold commercially to wholesale distributors has fluctuated between $ 1.00/lb up to $ 2.50/lb. Retail prices in supermarkets and specialty stores have ranged from $ 3.00 to $ 3.50/lb. Atractosteus gars, including alligator gar, tropical gars , and Cuban gars , are considered good candidates for aquaculture , particularly in developing regions, where their rapid growth, disease resistance, easy adaptation to artificial feeds as juveniles, and ability to tolerate low water quality are essential. Their ability to breathe in both air and water eliminates

1111-615: A lack of dissolved oxygen within the water. The swim bladder is connected to their fore gut by a small pneumatic duct , which allows them to breathe or gulp air when they break the water's surface, an action seen quite frequently on lakes in the Southern United States during the hot summer. The scales of alligator gar are not like the scales of other fishes, which have flexible elasmoid scales ; gar bodies are protected by inflexible and articulated ganoid scales that are rhomboidal -shaped, often with serrated edges, and composed of

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1212-669: A local doctor. Historian Joshua D. Rothman calls this event "the deadliest outbreak of extralegal violence in the slave states between the Southampton Insurrection and the Civil War." In 1862, fifty Jewish families formed the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Anshe Chesed in Vicksburg, and received a charter from the state. Two years later in 1864, the Anshe Chesed Cemetery was formed, and it

1313-476: A passive threat to other fish. The fish has been sighted in eight provinces, and authorities have worked to remove it. In November 2008, a broadhead gar, genus Atractosteus , measuring 5.2 to 6.4 ft (1.6 to 2.0 m) was caught in the Caspian Sea north of Esenguly , Turkmenistan , by two officials of Turkmenistan Fishery Protection. On September 4, 2009, a 3 ft 3 in (0.99 m) alligator gar

1414-455: A planter were taken from jail by a mob of 200 farmers and lynched before they could go to trial. In May 1919, as many as a thousand white men broke down three sets of steel doors to abduct, hang, burn and shoot a black prisoner, Lloyd Clay, who was falsely accused of raping a white woman. From 1877 to 1950 in Warren County, 14 African Americans were lynched by whites, most in the decades near

1515-425: A publication documented some of Vicksburg's leading African Americans including lawyer and banker W. E. Mollison . On March 12, 1894, the popular soft drink Coca-Cola was bottled for the first time in Vicksburg by Joseph A. Biedenharn , a local confectioner . Today, surviving 19th-century Biedenharn soda bottles are prized by collectors of Coca-Cola memorabilia. The original candy store has been renovated and

1616-415: A swim bladder lung for breathing in both air and water. Alligator gar are relatively passive, seemingly sluggish solitary fish, but voracious ambush predators . They are opportunistic night predators and are primarily piscivores , but gar will also ambush and eat water fowl , other birds , turtles , and small mammals that may be floating on the surface. Their method of ambush is to float a few feet below

1717-654: A symposium was held on the 140th anniversary of the 1874 riots. A variety of scholars gave papers and an open panel discussion was held on the second day at the Vicksburg National Military Park, in collaboration with the Jacqueline House African American Museum. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 35.093 square miles (90.89 km ), of which 33.017 square miles (85.51 km )

1818-420: A time when it was still being referred to as a trash fish. The half-hour program ran for three years as part of an educational series titled "Exotic and Unusual Fishes", produced by Earthwave Society. It first aired in primetime during the 1992 July sweeps , and drew a 2.8 rating/4 share, making it the number-one rated program of the evening for several PBS affiliates. A decade passed before any significant action

1919-505: A tough inner layer of bone and hard outer layer of ganoin , which is essentially homologous to tooth enamel , making them nearly impenetrable. Lacépède first described the alligator gar in 1803. The original name was Lepisosteus spatula , but was later changed by E.O. Wiley in 1976 to Atractosteus spatula to recognize two distinct taxa of gars. Synonyms of Atractosteus spatula include: Lesisosteus [sic] ferox (Rafinesque 1820), and Lepisosteus spatula (Lacepede 1803). Fossils from

2020-421: A wide range of salinities. High salinities occur in locations with high evaporation rates, such as in salt marshes and high intertidal pools. Shading by plants, especially in the salt marsh, can slow evaporation and thus ameliorate salinity stress. In addition, salt marsh plants tolerate high salinities by several physiological mechanisms, including excreting salt through salt glands and preventing salt uptake into

2121-564: A wide variety of aquatic habitats , but most are found in the Southern United States in reservoirs and lakes, in the backwaters of lowland rivers, and in the brackish waters of estuaries , bayous , and bays . Gars occur southward along the Gulf Coast of Texas , into Tamaulipas and northern Veracruz , Mexico ; however, records from Nicaragua and Costa Rica are considered "suspect and refuted". They have occasionally been seen in

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2222-562: Is a historic city in Warren County , Mississippi , United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census . Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana , Vicksburg was built by French colonists in 1719. The outpost withstood an attack from the native Natchez people . It was incorporated as Vicksburg in 1825 after Methodist missionary Newitt Vick. The area that

2323-523: Is damaging to living tissue so, to cope with this problem, some fish retain trimethylamine oxide . This provides a better solution to urea's toxicity. Sharks, having slightly higher solute concentration (i.e., above 1000 mOsm which is sea solute concentration), do not drink water like marine fish. The level of salinity in intertidal zones can also be quite variable. Low salinities can be caused by rainwater or river inputs of freshwater. Estuarine species must be especially euryhaline, or able to tolerate

2424-561: Is land and 2.076 square miles (5.38 km ) is water. Vicksburg is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. Much of the city is on top of a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg is also served by Interstate 20 . The interstate opens Vicksburg with a cloverleaf interchange that heads out to U.S. Route 61 North towards Rolling Fork, Mississippi , Clarksdale, Mississippi , and stretches out for another 77 miles towards Memphis, Tennessee . On

2525-591: Is majority African American . The city is home to three large installations of the United States Army Corps of Engineers , which has often been involved in local flood control. The area that is now Vicksburg was long occupied by the Natchez Native Americans as part of their historical territory along the Mississippi. The Natchez spoke a language isolate not related to the Muskogean languages of

2626-504: Is now Vicksburg was long occupied by the Natchez Native Americans as part of their historical territory along the Mississippi. The first Europeans who settled the area were French colonists who built Fort Saint Pierre in 1719 on the high bluffs overlooking the Yazoo River at present-day Redwood . They conducted fur trading with the Natchez and others, and started plantations. During

2727-440: Is the case with salmon and eels . The opposite of euryhaline organisms are stenohaline ones, which can only survive within a narrow range of salinities. Most freshwater organisms are stenohaline, and will die in seawater, and similarly most marine organisms are stenohaline, and cannot live in fresh water. Osmoregulation is the active process by which an organism maintains its level of water content. The osmotic pressure in

2828-479: Is used as the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum. The exclusion of most blacks from the political system lasted for decades until after Congressional passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Lynchings of blacks and other forms of white racial terrorism against them continued to occur in Vicksburg after the start of the 20th century. In May 1903, for instance, two black men charged with murdering

2929-532: The American Civil War , it was a key Confederate river-port, and its July 1863 surrender to Ulysses S. Grant , along with the concurrent Battle of Gettysburg , marked the turning-point of the war. After the war came Reconstruction era and then a violent return to power by white supremacists and the Democratic Party in 1874 and 1875, including the Vicksburg massacre . Today, Vicksburg's population

3030-480: The American alligator , particularly their broad snouts and long, sharp teeth. It is suggested that an alligator gar can grow up to 10 ft (3.0 m) in length. The body of an alligator gar is torpedo-shaped, usually brown or olive colored, fading to a lighter gray or yellow ventral surface. In very rare occurrences, they can also be black, seen in gars that have a high level of melanin . Their scales are not like

3131-712: The Choctaw , traditional enemies of the Natchez, though, the French defeated and scattered the Natchez and their allies, the Yazoo . The Choctaw Nation took over the area by right of conquest and inhabited it for several decades. Under pressure from the US government, the Choctaw agreed to cede nearly 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km ) of land to the US under the terms of the Treaty of Fort Adams in 1801. The treaty

Alligator gar - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-472: The Early Cretaceous over 100 million years ago. Gars are often referred to as " primitive fishes " or " living fossils ", because they have retained some morphological characteristics of their early ancestors, such as a spiral valve intestine, which is also common to the digestive system of sharks , and the ability to breathe in both air and water. Their common name was derived from their resemblance to

3333-414: The Early Cretaceous period. Despite being a highly evolved species, alligator gar are often referred to as "primitive fishes" or "living fossils", because they have retained a few morphological characteristics of their earliest ancestors, with seemingly few to no apparent changes, such as: a spiral valve intestine, which is also common to the digestive system of sharks; an abbreviate heterocercal tail; and

3434-541: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission . The charges included violations of three separate provisions of the Lacey Act, specifically conspiracy to submit a false label for fish transported in interstate commerce, conspiracy to transport fish in interstate commerce in violation of state law or regulation, and conspiracy to transport and sell fish in interstate commerce in violation of state law or regulation. Two of

3535-650: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 , in which hundreds of thousands of acres were inundated, Vicksburg served as the primary gathering point for refugees. Relief parties put up temporary housing, as the flood submerged a large percentage of the Mississippi Delta . Because of the overwhelming damage from the flood, the US Army Corps of Engineers established the Waterways Experiment Station as

3636-512: The Gulf of Mexico . For nearly a half century, alligator gar were considered "trash fish", or a "nuisance species" detrimental to sport fisheries , and were targeted for elimination by state and federal authorities in the United States. The 1980s brought a better understanding of the ecological balance necessary to sustain an ecosystem, and an awareness that the alligator gar is an important element of

3737-951: The Gulf of Mexico . In Texas and Louisiana , large gars are commonly seen breaking the surface in reservoirs, bayous, and brackish marshes. They are found throughout the lower Mississippi River Valley and Gulf Coast states of the Southern United States and Mexico as far south as Veracruz , and encompassing the following states in the US: Texas, Oklahoma , Louisiana, Kentucky , Mississippi , Alabama , Tennessee , Arkansas , Missouri , Illinois , Florida , and Georgia . Reports suggest alligator gar were once numerous throughout much of their northern range, but valid sightings today are rare, and may occur once every few years. Records of historical distribution indicate alligator gar once inhabited regions as far north as central Kansas , Nebraska , Ohio , Iowa , and west-central Illinois, where they are now listed as extirpated . The most northerly verified catch

3838-611: The Mekong River in Chiang Rai Province , a natural border between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, alongside Siberian sturgeon . Native Americans in the South and Caribbean peoples used the alligator gar's ganoid scales for arrow heads , breastplates , and as shielding to cover plows. Early settlers tanned the skins to make a strong, durable leather to cover their wooden plows, make purses, and craft various other items. Gar oil

3939-671: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . In the first few years after the Civil War, white Confederate veterans developed the Ku Klux Klan , beginning in Tennessee; it had chapters throughout the South and attacked freedmen and their supporters. It was suppressed about 1870. By the mid-1870s, new white paramilitary groups had arisen in the Deep South , including the Red Shirts in Mississippi, as whites struggled to regain political and social power over

4040-530: The US Army Reserve and the 168th Engineer Brigade of the Mississippi Army National Guard are also located in Vicksburg. The United States Coast Guard 's 8th District/Lower Mississippi River sector has an Aids To Navigation unit located in Vicksburg, operating the buoy tending vessel USCGC Kickapoo. In 2017, Emma Green of The Atlantic stated, "The Army Corps of Engineers sustains

4141-453: The ecosystems they inhabit was eventually understood. Over time, alligator gar were afforded some protection by state and federal resource agencies. They are also protected under the Lacey Act , which makes transporting certain species of fish in interstate commerce illegal when in violation of state law or regulation. Several state and federal resource agencies are monitoring populations in

Alligator gar - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-461: The hardhead catfish ( Ariopsis felis ). Diet studies have also revealed fishing tackle and boat-engine parts in their stomachs. As with most ancestral species, alligator gar are long-lived, and sexually late maturing. Most females do not reach sexual maturity until after their first decade of life, while males reach sexual maturity in half that time. The conditions must be precise for a successful spawning to occur. Preparation for spawning begins in

4343-454: The poverty line . Vicksburg has an estimated 55.1% employment rate, with 25.3% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 86.1% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (94.3%), Spanish (2.9%), Indo-European (1.8%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.1%), and Other (0.8%). The median age in

4444-570: The "Japanese black market". In June 2011, three men from Florida and Louisiana were indicted on charges of illegally removing wild alligator gar from the Trinity River in Texas, and attempting to ship them to Japan for private collectors. The indictments resulted from an undercover sting operation by special agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service , the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department , and

4545-468: The Mississippi River's course away from the city. Vicksburg only retained access to an oxbow lake formed from the old channel of the river, which effectively isolated the city from accessing the Mississippi riverfront. The city's economy suffered greatly due to the lack of a functional river port; Vicksburg would not be a river town again until the completion of the Yazoo Diversion Canal in 1903 by

4646-481: The Natchez attacked the fort and plantations in and around the present-day city of Natchez . They killed several hundred settlers, including Jesuit missionary Paul Du Poisson. As was the custom, they took a number of women and children as captives, adopting them into their families. The Natchez War was a disaster for French Louisiana, and the colonial population of the Natchez District never recovered. Aided by

4747-558: The Royal Air Force, flying from their training base at Terrell, Texas, routinely flew to Vicksburg on training flights. The town served as a stand-in for the British for Cologne, Germany, which is the same distance from London, England as Vicksburg is from Terrell. Particularly after World War II, in which many blacks served, returning veterans began to be active in the civil rights movement, wanting to have full citizenship after fighting in

4848-591: The Spanish founded a military outpost on the site, which they called Fort Nogales ( nogales meaning "walnut trees"). When the Americans took possession in 1798 following the American Revolutionary War and a treaty with Spain, they changed the name to Walnut Hills . The small village was incorporated in 1825 as Vicksburg, named after Newitt Vick, a Methodist minister who had established a Protestant mission on

4949-566: The Union's favor. From the surrender of Vicksburg until the end of the war in 1865, the area was under Union military occupation. Celebrations of the 4th of July, the day of surrender, were irregular until 1947. The Vicksburg Evening Post of July 4, 1883, called July 4 "the day we don't celebrate", and another Vicksburg newspaper, the Daily Commercial Appeal , in 1888 hoped that a political victory would bring an enthusiastic celebration

5050-434: The animal kingdom. Osmoregulators actively control salt concentrations despite the salt concentrations in the environment. An example is freshwater fish. The gills actively uptake salt from the environment by the use of mitochondria-rich cells. Water will diffuse into the fish, so it excretes a very hypotonic (dilute) urine to expel all the excess water. A marine fish has an internal osmotic concentration lower than that of

5151-409: The black majority. Elections were marked by violence and fraud as white Democrats worked to suppress black Republican voting. In August 1874, a black sheriff, Peter Crosby , was elected in Vicksburg. Letters by a white planter, Batchelor, detail the preparations of whites for what he described as a "race war," including acquisition of the newest Winchester guns. On December 7, 1874, white men disrupted

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5252-637: The body is homeostatically regulated in such a manner that it keeps the organism's fluids from becoming too diluted or too concentrated. Osmotic pressure is a measure of the tendency of water to move into one solution from another by osmosis. Two major types of osmoregulation are osmoconformers and osmoregulators. Osmoconformers match their body osmolarity to their environment actively or passively. Most marine invertebrates are osmoconformers, although their ionic composition may be different from that of seawater. Osmoregulators tightly regulate their body osmolarity, which always stays constant, and are more common in

5353-576: The city was 37.6 years. As of the 2020 census , there were 21,573 people, 9,277 households, and 5,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 653.5 inhabitants per square mile (252.3/km ). There were 10,967 housing units at an average density of 332.2 inhabitants per square mile (128.3/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 28.16% White , 67.21% African American , 0.15% Native American , 0.97% Asian , 0.00% Pacific Islander , 0.64% from some other races and 2.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.87% of

5454-400: The concentration of urea and other osmolytes in their blood compared to marine populations. However, the osmotic pressure between their internal fluids and external environment still causes water to diffuse into their bodies, and they must produce large quantities of dilute urine (at 10 times the rate of marine individuals) to compensate. Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg

5555-412: The conspirators entered guilty pleas to one count, and the government dropped the other two charges against them. A third conspirator went to trial on all three counts, was acquitted on one count, and found guilty on two. The district court sentenced him to serve nine months in prison followed by one year of supervised release . The case was appealed, and on April 15, 2014, the appellate court affirmed

5656-646: The country return for the event. Every summer since 1936, Vicksburg Theatre Guild has hosted Gold in the Hills , which holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running show. The city government consists of a mayor who is elected at-large and two aldermembers. The current mayor is George Flaggs Jr. , who defeated former mayor Paul Winfield in the June 2013 election. The two aldermembers are elected from single-member districts , known as wards. The City of Vicksburg

5757-430: The decks of boats. Fishermen participated in the slaughter of thousands of alligator gar believing they were providing a great service. In 1992, PBS affiliate KUHT channel 8 became the presenting station for a public-outreach program that documented the life history cycle of alligator gar titled The Alligator Gar: Predator or Prey? . It was the first documentary ever produced and televised nationally about alligator gar at

5858-488: The following year. In 1902, the 4th of July saw only "a parade of colored draymen". In 1947, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger stated that the city of Vicksburg did not celebrate the 4th of July again until 1945, and then it was celebrated as Confederate Carnival Day. A recent scholar disagrees, stating that large Fourth of July celebrations were being held by 1907, and informal celebrations before that. A large parade

5959-439: The judgment of the district court. Euryhaline The green crab ( Carcinus maenas ) is an example of a euryhaline invertebrate that can live in salt and brackish water. Euryhaline organisms are commonly found in habitats such as estuaries and tide pools where the salinity changes regularly. However, some organisms are euryhaline because their life cycle involves migration between freshwater and marine environments, as

6060-681: The large size alligator gar can attain, they are kept as aquarium fish, though many fish labeled as "alligator gar" in the aquarium trade are actually smaller species. Alligator gar require a very large aquarium or pond, and ample resources for them to thrive in captivity. They are also a popular fish for public aquaria and zoos. In many areas, keeping alligator gar as pets is illegal, but they occasionally show up in fish stores. Alligator gar are highly prized and sought after for private aquaria, particularly in Japan. According to some reports, large alligator gar could fetch as much as US$ 40,000 in what some consider

6161-546: The largest alligator gar caught on rod and reel, is 279 lb (127 kg), taken by Bill Valverde on January 1, 1951, on the Rio Grande in Texas. Alligator gar are also quite popular among bowfishers because of their large size, trophy potential, and fighting ability. The Texas state bowfishing record was set in 2001 by Marty McClellan with a 290 lb (130 kg) alligator gar from the Trinity River. The all-tackle record

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6262-738: The murals were drawn from the history of Vicksburg and the surrounding area. They include President Theodore Roosevelt 's bear hunt, the Sultana , the Sprague , the Siege of Vicksburg , the Kings Crossing site , Willie Dixon , the Flood of 1927 , the 1953 Vicksburg, Mississippi tornado , Rosa A. Temple High School (known for integration activism) and the Vicksburg National Military Park . The project

6363-454: The need for costly aeration systems and other technology commonly used in aquaculture. Despite being considered "trash" or "rough" fish in most of North America, in regions of Central America and the southern United States they have become a popular food fish. Maintaining wild populations of gars has grown in importance to maintaining sustainable aquaculture for "local food production, the aquarium trade, and conservation of biodiversity". Despite

6464-788: The order Lepisosteiformes have been collected in Europe from the Cretaceous to Oligocene periods; in Africa and India from the Cretaceous; and in North America from the Cretaceous to recent times. The Lepisosteidae are the only extant family of gars with seven species, all located in North and Central America. The fossil record traces the existence of gars such as the Alligator gar back over 100 million years ago to

6565-463: The other criteria are met, gar move into the grassy, weed-laden shallows to spawn. Actual spawning occurs when males gather around gravid females, and begin writhing, twisting, bumping into, and slithering over the tops of females, an activity which triggers the release of eggs. Males release clouds of milt to fertilize the eggs as they are released into the water column. The sticky eggs then attach to submerged vegetation, and development begins. Only

6666-476: The other major tribes in the area. Before the Natchez, other indigenous cultures had occupied this strategic area for thousands of years. The first Europeans who settled the area were French colonists who built Fort Saint Pierre in 1719 on the high bluffs overlooking the Yazoo River at present-day Redwood . They conducted fur trading with the Natchez and others, and started plantations. On 29 November 1729,

6767-675: The population. 25.2% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.6% were under 5 years of age, and 15.5% were 65 and older. The city is home to three large US Army Corps of Engineers installations: the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), which also houses the ERDC's Waterways Experiment Station ; the Mississippi Valley Division headquarters; and the Vicksburg District headquarters. The 412th Engineer Command of

6868-494: The primary hydraulics laboratory, to develop protection of important croplands and cities. Now known as the Engineer Research and Development Center , it applies military engineering, information technology, environmental engineering, hydraulic engineering, and geotechnical engineering to problems of flood control and river navigation. In December 1953, a severe tornado swept across Vicksburg, causing 38 deaths and destroying nearly 1,000 buildings. During World War II, cadets from

6969-576: The roots. Despite having a regular freshwater presence, the Atlantic stingray is physiologically euryhaline and no population has evolved the specialized osmoregulatory mechanisms found in the river stingrays of the family Potamotrygonidae . This may be due to the relatively recent date of freshwater colonization (under one million years), and/or possibly incomplete genetic isolation of the freshwater populations, as they remain capable of surviving in salt water . Freshwater Atlantic stingrays have only 30-50%

7070-556: The scales of other fishes; rather, they are ganoid scales , which are bone-like, rhomboidal -shaped scales, often with serrated edges, and covered by an enamel-like substance. Ganoid scales are nearly impenetrable, and are excellent protection against predation. Unlike other gar species, the upper jaw of an alligator gar has a dual row of large, sharp teeth that are used to impale and hold prey. Alligator gar are stalking, ambush predators , primarily piscivores , but they also ambush and eat waterfowl and small mammals they find floating on

7171-490: The shore of Gonyeli Baraji reservoir, North Cyprus . Specialists from Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute collected the fish, and explained its species to be alligator gar ( Atractosteus spatula ). It is suspected that the fish had been released recently, and could not cope with the environment and died; however, it could be that the fish was resident there for years. A necropsy will be applied to find out more. Similarly, on May 12, 2023, an alligator gar measuring less than 2 feet

7272-548: The site. The town of Vicksburg was incorporated in 1825, with a population of 3,000 people; of which approximately twenty people were Jewish and had immigrated from Bavaria , Prussia , and Alsace–Lorraine . In 1835, during the Murrell Excitement , a mob from Vicksburg attempted to expel the gamblers from the city, because the citizens were tired of the rougher element treating the city residents with contempt. They captured and hanged five gamblers who had shot and killed

7373-734: The south part of the exit, it heads on Mississippi Highway 27 towards Utica, Mississippi . As the interstate goes on it makes interchanges with Clay Street, Indiana Avenue, and Halls Ferry Road. After the downtown interchanges are over, before finally crossing in Louisiana with a cloverleaf interchange , I-20 makes a directional T interchange with US-61, and US-61 heads south toward Port Gibson, Mississippi , Natchez, Mississippi , and then continues for another 92 miles into Baton Rouge, Louisiana , Louisiana's capital city. Interstate 20 then continues to head west towards Monroe, Louisiana , Shreveport, Louisiana , Dallas , and lastly after 445 miles, making

7474-421: The species as a sport fish, which some have attributed to features on popular television shows. Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana allow regulated sport fishing of alligator gar. Texas has one of the best remaining fisheries for alligator gar, and in concert with its efforts to maintain a viable fishery, imposed a one-per-day bag limit on them in 2009. The Texas state record, and world record for

7575-455: The species. Sensationalized reports have contributed to the misconception of predatory attacks by alligator gar on humans, though none of the reports have been confirmed. On January 21, 2011, an alligator gar measuring 4 ft 11 in (1.50 m) was caught in a canal in Pasir Ris , Singapore , by two recreational fishermen. The fish was taken to a nearby pond, where the owner confirmed it

7676-426: The spring with the extended photoperiod and rising water temperatures, but flooding is also necessary to trigger the event. When rivers rise and spread over the floodplain, they create oxbow lakes and sloughs , and inundate terrestrial vegetation, which in turn provides protection and a nutrient-rich habitat for larval fish and fry . Once the water temperature has reached 68 to 82 °F (20 to 28 °C), and all

7777-539: The state up to the 1875 elections, at which time white Democrats regained control of a majority of seats in the state legislature. Under new constitutions, amendments and laws passed between 1890 in Mississippi and 1908 in the remaining southern states, white Democrats disenfranchised most blacks and many poor whites by creating barriers to voter registration, such as poll taxes , literacy tests , and grandfather clauses . They passed Jim Crow laws through which they imposed racial segregation of public facilities. In 1908,

7878-678: The surface, and wait for unsuspecting prey to swim within reach. The gar will then lunge forward, and with a sweeping motion, grab their prey, impaling it on their double rows of sharp teeth. Diet studies have shown alligator gar to be opportunistic piscivores, and even scavengers depending on the availability of their preferred food source. They occasionally ingest sport fish , but the majority of stomach content studies suggest they feed predominately on forage fishes , such as gizzard shad , as well as invertebrates and water fowl. However, brackish water populations of alligator gar are known to feed heavily on blue crabs , in addition to fish such as

7979-413: The surrounding seawater, so it tends to lose water (to the more negative surroundings) and gain salt. It actively excretes salt out from the gills . Most fish are stenohaline , which means they are restricted to either salt or fresh water and cannot survive in water with a different salt concentration than they are adapted to. However, some fish show a tremendous ability to effectively osmoregulate across

8080-549: The time. Twenty-first-century historian Emilye Crosby estimates that 300 blacks were killed in the city and the surrounding area of Claiborne County, Mississippi . The Red Shirts were active in Vicksburg and other Mississippi areas, and black pleas to the federal government for protection were not met. At the request of Republican Governor Adelbert Ames , who had left the state during the violence, President Ulysses S. Grant sent federal troops to Vicksburg in January 1875. In addition,

8181-577: The town economically". 12.3% of the local workforce is employed by the federal government . Vicksburg is the home of four casinos along the Mississippi River. Every summer, Vicksburg plays host to the Miss Mississippi Pageant and Parade. Also every summer, the Vicksburg Homecoming Benevolent Club hosts a homecoming weekend/reunion that provides scholarships to graduating high-school seniors. Former residents from across

8282-435: The turn of the century. The United States Army Corps of Engineers diverted the Yazoo River in 1903 into the old, shallowing channel to revive the waterfront of Vicksburg. The port city was able to receive steamboats again, but much freight and passenger traffic had moved to railroads, which had become more competitive. Railroad access to the west across the river continued to be by transfer steamers and ferry barges until

8383-494: The use of terms like "horrible man-eating fish" had begun appearing in the headlines of some major local newspapers. Officials with Leisure and Cultural Services in Tak Wah Park removed all the alligator gar from the ponds because they were concerned the large, carnivorous fish might harm children. Not unusually, the large, sharp teeth and outward appearance of alligator gar can precipitate unreasonable fear in those unfamiliar with

8484-603: The war. In Mississippi, activists in the Vicksburg Movement became prominent during the 1960s. In 2001, a group of Vicksburg residents visited the Paducah, Kentucky, mural project , looking for ideas for their own community development. In 2002, the Vicksburg Riverfront murals program was begun by Louisiana mural artist Robert Dafford and his team on the floodwall located on the waterfront in downtown. Subjects for

8585-542: The water's surface. Populations of alligator gar have been extirpated from much of their historic range as a result of habitat destruction , indiscriminate culling , and unrestricted harvests. Populations are now located primarily in the southern portions of the United States extending into Mexico . They are considered euryhaline because they can adapt to varying salinities, ranging from freshwater lakes and swamps to brackish marshes , estuaries , and bays along

8686-725: The wild, and have initiated outreach programs to educate the public. Alligator gar are being cultured in ponds, pools, raceways , and tanks by federal hatcheries for mitigation stocking, by universities for research purposes, and in Mexico for consumption. Alligator gar are the largest species in the gar family, and among the largest freshwater fishes found in North America. Mature alligator gar commonly measure 6 ft (1.8 m) in length, and weigh over 100 lb (45 kg). However, anecdotal reports suggest they can grow up to 10 ft (3 m) in length, and weigh as much as 350 lb (159 kg). The largest alligator gar officially recorded

8787-597: Was 47 in (120 cm). According to wildlife officials, the fish was estimated to be between 50 and 70 years old; one report estimated the gar's age to be at least 95. Williams donated it to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science in Jackson , where it will remain on display. All gars have torpedo-shaped bodies, but some distinguishing characteristics of adult alligator gar include their large size; heavy bodies; broad heads; short, broad snouts; large, sharp teeth; and

8888-442: Was a 302 lb (137 kg) alligator gar caught on a trotline in 1953 by T.C. Pierce Jr. In 1991, fishing guide Kirk Kirkland anecdotally reported catching an alligator gar measuring 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) on rod and line from the Trinity River. Declining populations of alligator gar throughout their historic range have resulted in the need to monitor wild populations and regulate commercial harvests. Alligator gar have

8989-449: Was also used by the people of Arkansas as a repellent for buffalo gnats . For nearly half a century, alligator gar were considered "trash fish", or "nuisance species" by state and federal authorities who targeted them for elimination to protect gamefish populations, and to prevent alleged attacks on humans, a claim that remains unsubstantiated with the exception of occasional injuries sustained from captured alligator gar thrashing around on

9090-449: Was an alligator gar rather than an arapaima , as the men had initially thought. Anecdotal reports have been made of alligator gar captured in various parts of India , but are believed to be the result of incidental releases by aquarium hobbyists and the like. In August 2015, an alligator gar was found entangled in cloth inside a well in Dadar , where it had been living for quite some time. It

9191-558: Was caught during a deweeding process in Dal Lake of Kashmir near the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), sparking concerns about potential effects on the ecosystem. In Thailand , an alligator gar have long been considered an imported aquarium fish. In reports of their discovery in various natural water sources, believed that they were released by aquaristen. In 2024, they were reported in

9292-470: Was finished in 2009 with the completion of the Jitney Jungle/Glass Kitchen mural. In the fall of 2010, a new 55-foot mural was painted on a section of wall on Grove Hill across the street from the original project by former Dafford muralists Benny Graeff and Herb Roe . The mural's subject is the annual "Run thru History" held in the Vicksburg National Military Park. On December 6–7, 2014,

9393-557: Was found in Tak Wah Park in Tsuen Wan , Hong Kong . Over the next two days, at least 16 other alligator gar, the largest measuring 4.9 ft (1.5 m), were found in ponds within public parks in Hong Kong. Nearby residents reported the alligator gar had been released into the ponds by aquarium hobbyists, and had lived there for several years. However, after a complaint made by a citizen who falsely identified alligator gar as crocodiles ,

9494-539: Was held in 1890. Because of Vicksburg's location on the Mississippi River, it built extensive trade from the prodigious steamboat traffic in the 19th century. It shipped out cotton coming to it from surrounding counties and was a major trading city in West Central Mississippi. However, in 1876, a Mississippi River flood cut off the large meander next to Vicksburg through the De Soto Point, which changed

9595-540: Was in Meredosia, Illinois , in 1922. In 2016, there were efforts to reintroduce alligator gar between Tennessee and Illinois, as part of an effort to control invasive Asian carp . Alligator gar is an invasive species in Mainland China , where it can be purchased as an exotic pet fish . Due to its large size and armored scales, it has few natural predators even within its natural range, and its poisonous eggs may pose

9696-449: Was inadvertently caught in the net of fisherman Kenny Williams of Vicksburg, Mississippi , while he was fishing the oxbow lakes of the Mississippi River on February 14, 2011. Williams was pulling up his net on Lake Chotard, expecting to find buffalo fish , but instead discovered a large alligator gar tangled in his net. The gar was 8 ft 5 + 1 ⁄ 4  in (2.572 m) long, weighed 327 lb (148 kg), and its girth

9797-407: Was intended to starve the city into submission. Its location atop a high bluff overlooking the Mississippi River proved otherwise impregnable to assault by federal troops. The surrender of Vicksburg by Confederate General John C. Pemberton on July 4, 1863, together with the defeat of General Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg the day before, has historically marked the turning point of the Civil War in

9898-453: Was rescued by animal activists and returned to the well unharmed. In June 2016, a 3.5-ft alligator gar was caught from Subhash Sarovar Lake in Kolkata . Other incidents over the years have been random, ranging from captures in coastal waters during environmental assessments to captures in private ponds. On June 27, 2020, an alligator gar measuring 112 cm (3 ft 8in) was reported dead on

9999-538: Was taken to protect and preserve the remaining populations of alligator gar in the United States. Among the first to enact restoration and management practices was the Missouri Department of Conservation in partnership with Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. The long-time public perception of alligator gar as trash fish or a nuisance species has changed, with increasing national and international attention on

10100-451: Was the first of a series that eventually led to the removal of most of the Choctaw to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River in 1830. Some Choctaw remained in Mississippi, citing article XIV of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek ; they became citizens of the state and the United States. They struggled to maintain their culture against the pressure of the binary slave society, which classified people as only white or black. In 1790,

10201-475: Was the second Jewish cemetery in the city; not much is known about the first Jewish cemetery. The Confederate president, Jefferson Davis , was based at his family plantation at Brierfield , just south of the city. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the city finally surrendered during the Siege of Vicksburg , after which the Union Army gained control of the entire Mississippi River. The 47-day siege

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