Gar

When I came upon this skeletal head on the river, I thought at first glance that it must belong to a shore bird.  I'd been photographing and studying them so much, and admiring their long bills, that I wanted it to be a shore bird's head rather than knew it to be so.

Upon closer examination, it turned out to be a gar, which is a type of fish we have here in the Mississippi.  (Thanks, Hyperion, for the official identification, which as usual, was instantaneous:  Look.  Blink.  "Oh, that's a gar".)

This is probably a short-nosed gar, as opposed to a long-nosed gar.  Either way, I wouldn't want to meet one in a dark alley.  Check out that toothy grin.

Gar, which comes from Old English and German, and means "spear" is related to the name Gary, which means "spear bearer".