Alligator Gar

Alligator gar are prehistoric-looking fish reaching 10 feet and 300 pounds, with torpedo bodies covered in rock-hard ganoid scales that deflect bullets. Their lineage dates back 100 million years, and they retain ancestral features like vascularized swim bladders that function as primitive lungs. Once demonized as 'trash fish,' they're now recognized as important apex predators controlling invasive species in Southern U.S. waterways.

The alligator gar's armor represents a design trade-off that proved durable. Ganoid scales are metabolically expensive and reduce flexibility compared to thin scales. But they provide protection that eliminates most predation pressure. The gar traded swimming efficiency for survivability - and the bet paid off across 100 million years. No freshwater predator can threaten an adult alligator gar except humans.

For business, alligator gar represent heavily defended competitive positions that sacrifice efficiency for survivability. Companies with high switching costs, regulatory protection, or deep customer lock-in trade margin for durability. Banks, utilities, and enterprise software often exhibit gar-like characteristics: they're not the most efficient competitors, but their protective barriers make them nearly impossible to displace. The armor costs something - gar can't swim like streamlined fish, and protected businesses can't move like startups. But protection enables century-scale persistence.