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Neopterygian node A (defining node of the NEOPTERYGII): The palatoquadrate is no longer in contactwith the preopercular and maxilla, the latter is mobile with peg-like anterior head. Interopercular bone appears. Quadrate braced by quadratojugal. Consolidated pharyngeal dentition. Presence of the symplectic. Fin rays present in equal numbers to their support in dorsal and anal fins. Loss of clavicle, or its reduction to a small plate in the vicinity of the cleithrum.
There are two living genera of gars in North and Central America and Cuba. Lepisosteus, above, is a fresh and brackish water large predatory fish, with a similar lifestyle to that of pikes (cf Saurichthyiforms).
The genus is a living fossil, being recognisable in the fossil record from the Cretaceous onwards. Its range was drastically reduced since then, as fossilised remains are known from North and South America, Europe, Africa and India dating to the Cretaceous and Early Tertiary.