Editing Gar (section)

==Etymology==
The name "gar" was originally used for a species of [[needlefish]] (''[[Belone belone]]'') found in the North Atlantic and likely took its name from the [[Old English]] word for "spear".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gar|title=Gar|access-date=2007-04-21}}</ref> ''Belone belone'' is now more commonly referred to as the "garfish" or "gar fish" to avoid confusion with the North American gars of the family Lepisosteidae.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.cfm?ID=47&GenusName=Belone&SpeciesName=belone&StockCode=57|title=Common Names of Belone belone|access-date=2007-04-21 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071019180912/http://www.fishbase.org/comnames/CommonNamesList.cfm?ID=47&GenusName=Belone&SpeciesName=belone&StockCode=57 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-10-19}}</ref> Confusingly, the name "garfish" is also commonly used for a number of other species of the related genera ''[[Strongylura]], [[Tylosurus]]'', and ''[[Xenentodon]]'' of the family [[Belonidae]].

The [[genus|generic]] name ''Lepisosteus'' comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''lepis'' (λεπίς) meaning "scale" and ''osteon'' (ὀστέον) meaning "bone".<ref name="Jordan1896">{{Cite book |last=Jordan |first=David Starr |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fishes_of_North_and_Middle_America/G8DRAAAAMAAJ? |title=The Fishes of North and Middle America: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Species of Fish-like Vertebrates Found in the Waters of North America, North of the Isthmus of Panama |last2=Evermann |first2=Barton Warren |date=1896 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |language=en}}</ref> ''Atractosteus'' is similarly derived from Greek, in this case from ''atraktos'' (ἀτρακτὀς), meaning ''spindle.''<ref name="Jordan1896"/>