Solomon David

November 6-12 is GAR WEEK! What is a gar, you ask? Picture: A long snout. Hundreds of teeth. Scales that could slice you. Should we fear it? Should we hug it? One of the world’s most passionate and knowledgeable experts on this ancient, mysterious fish joins to make you fall in love with these slimy longbois. Dr. Solomon David is affable, charming, enthusiastic and absolutely shameless when it comes to fish puns. Slip into some hip waders and jump in the muck to learn all about a creature that -- despite decades of mudslinging -- is not a gar-bage fish. Also: why gar caviar is a hella bad idea.Visit Dr. Solomon David’s website and follow him on Twitter and InstagramA donation went to Ranger Rick, part of the National Wildlife FederationMore episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Ichthyology (FISH), Oceanology Encore (THE OCEAN), Benthopelagic Nematology (DEEP SEA WORMS), Teuthology (SQUID)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, stickers, totes!Follow @Ologies on Twitter and InstagramFollow @AlieWard on Twitter and InstagramEditing by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media & Steven Ray Morris, and Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio ProductionsTranscripts by Emily White of The WordaryWebsite by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Researchers discuss the slow evolutionary rate of Gar fish, with genomes changing so slowly that two species from 105 million years ago can still interbreed. The fish may have exceptional abilities to repair mutations. The implications for human health and genetic research are explored, along with concerns about data privacy. The remarkable endurance of Gar fish species is highlighted, as they have survived for over 150 million years with minimal evolution.