| Dactyloscopidae (Sand stargazers) |
| 7.5 cm TL (male/unsexed) |
|
demersal; marine; depth range 0 - 8 m |
| Western Atlantic: Florida, USA and Bahamas to Brazil. |
|
Dorsal spines (total): 7-23; Anal spines: 2-2. Common amongst Dactyloscopidae: Small, elongate fishes. Head usually broad and deep, body tapering and compressed behind. Eyes on top of head, often protrusible; mouth moderate to large, oblique to vertical; upper and/or lower lips with fimbriae; jaw teeth minute, in 2 or more series; no teeth on roof of mouth (vomer and palatines). Opercular opening large, gill membrane free from isthmus; opercles membranous, large, usually overlapping on underside of head, typically fringed above with 2 to 24 fleshy fimbriae. Dorsal fin continuous, with an isolated or semi-isolated anterior finlet, or with 1 to 5 separate anterior rays; dorsal-fin spines 7 to 23; anal-fin spines 2; dorsal and anal fins free or united to caudal fin by fragile membranes; pectoral fins broad-based, usually enlarged in mature males; caudal-fin rays simple or branched; pelvic fins under throat (insertion anterior to pectoral-fin base), with 1 spine and 3 thickened segmented rays; all other rays simple. Head and venter naked, body elsewhere with large cycloid scales (smooth to touch); lateral line high anteriorly, deflecting ventrally behind pectoral fin to continue along middle of side to caudal-fin base where terminal lateral-line scale bears ventrally directed canal. Body coloration, variably pale to strongly pigmented with white, brown, or reddish; some forms with characteristic saddle-like bars crossing back; others plain, mottled, or with indications of lateral stripes. Species distinguished by: dorsal-fin origin on nape; without a distinct anterior finlet. First preopercular canal branched, with 2 or more distal pores. Posterior naris (a patch of 1 to 8 pores) located on preorbital, between tubiform anterior naris and eye; premaxillary pedicels usually not reaching past rear margins of orbits (Ref. 52855). |
| Occurs in surf beaches, usually in less than 3 m depth. Burrows in soft sandy bottom, where it waits for prey, with only the eyes, nose and mouth protruding. |
|
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 18 October 2007 Ref. (130435)
|
| harmless |
|
Ranges from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte south to Ubatuba, São Paulo (Ref. 27742). Absent from collections from mainland or insular localities along western shores north of Natal (Ref. 27742). Ref. 7251, 57756.
Museum: CAS-SU 22227 (4.38 cm SL), holotype, Natal, Brazil, tidepool, 1911, E.C. Starks (Ref. 27742). |
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