| Northern stargazer | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Labriformes |
| Family: | Uranoscopidae |
| Genus: | Astroscopus |
| Species: | A. guttatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Astroscopus guttatus Abbott, 1860 | |
 | This article has no lead section .(November 2024) |
Astroscopus guttatus or the northern stargazer is a fish belonging to the Uranoscopidie family and was first described by Charles Conrad Abbott in 1860. [2] [3] Members of the Uranoscopidae family are characterized by dorsally or dorsolaterally directed eyes placed on or near the top of a large, flattened cuboid head, an oblique to vertical mouth often lined with cutaneous cirri, and an elongated, sub-compressed body. [4] [5] The Astroscopus genus consists of three species: Astroscopus guttatus, Astroscopus Y-graecum, and Astroscopus zepherus. Typically found on the Atlantic shores between the states of North Carolina and New York in the United States, the Northern Stargazer can sometimes be confused with its sister species the Southern Stargazer, Astroscopus y-graecum. Both A. guttatus and A. Y-graecum overlap in their distributions in Cape Hatterus One way to distinguish the Northern Stargazer from the Southern Stargazer is by the presence of numerous small white spots closely spaced along its head and back, whereas the Southern Stargazer has fewer, larger spots on its back. [6] The Northern Stargazer is a moderately sized fish that can reach lengths of 22 inches (56 cm). The northern stargazer can be found buried in sandy substrate at depths up to 120 feet (37 m) where the species remains buried awaiting prey. [1] [5] Stargazers have a flat forehead with a lot of body mass up front near the mouth creating a body plane optimal for remaining buried under sandy substrate. [5]
The northern stargazer has a blackish brown body covered in white spots that gradually increase in size towards the rear of the body. It has three dark horizontal stripes on its (white) tail. Another identifying feature for stargazers is the location of the lateral line. In most fish species the lateral line follows a straight direction or gentle curve on the side of the body. But in Astroscopus, the lateral lines that begin on the gill opening then run upward at a sharp angle until the two lines lie almost together, one on each side of the dorsal fin. This adaptation allows the fish to remain buried while keeping the lateral line operational. [6] The southern stargazer, A. y-graecum, closely resembles the northern stargazer in appearance and life history. Two ways to tell the two species apart look at the size and density of white spots on the back of the fish. The northern stargazer possesses more closely set white spots compared to the southern stargazers large more spaced spots. Another way to tell the difference between the two, is to look at the difference in tail striping among the two. The northern stargazer’s middle tail stripe extends on the rear portion of the body. Whereas on the southern stargazer, the stripe does not extend past the tail. [6] Northern stargazers have a robust body filled with small scales that becomes slender posteriorly. In addition, the fish have 4 to 5 short spines on the dorsal fin and 13 to 15 rays on the second dorsal fin. Their anal fin has 1 spine along with 12 rays. The northern stargazer has many adaptations that aid in its sand-dwelling lifestyle. First being the overall depressed shape of the stargazer. Stargazers have a flatted elongated body with a large head and eyes that are position on the top of their heads as opposed to the side. [7] The strategic placement of the eyes on the top of the head allows for their eyes to remain functional despite being buried. In addition to the location of the eyes, stargazers as well as other bottom dwelling fish have the ability to change the height of their eyes by filling tissues at the back of the eye with body fluid. Stargazers also have ventral fins that have been moved forward in such a way that they assist with digging. A. guttatus has pectoral fins that act as shovels allowing the fish to bury itself in seconds. The mouth of the stargazer faces up so that it can ambush prey while hiding in the sandy bottoms of coastal bodies of water. In addition to placement of their mouth, Astroscopus fish can breathe when the water is full of sand or when buried due to a row of fine comb-like structures on the edge of each jaw. These comb-like serrations are position in a way that when the jaw is closed, they interlock allowing water to flow through but preventing sand. [6] The top of the stargazer has electric organs in the orbitae [6] which can generate and transmit an electric shock. The electric apparatus is composed of two organs, which form two vertical columns roughly oval in horizontal section and placed behind and somewhat under each eye. It is composed of about 200 thin layers of electric tissue. [8]
Astroscopus guttatus is typically found in coastal waters from New York to Virginia. [9] But there have been sightings of the northern stargazer in the waters of South Carolina. [10] Northern Stargazer can be found in deep ocean water at depths up to 120 feet or 37 meters. The Northern Stargazer enjoys rocky reef and soft bottom habitats. In places lacking natural reefs, scientists experimented with placing oyster cages on the bottom of the ocean floor. These scientists observed an increase in fish diversity including an increase in Northern Stargazer sightings flowing the addition of the oyster cage as the cage created additional reef like habitat for fish. [11]
Northern stargazers live primarily along the eastern seaboard of the United States. They do not swim much except when migrating as they swim clumsily and slowly. Instead, northern stargazers bury themselves in the sand using short side to side motions of their ventral fins and tail to bury themselves until ¾ of their body place is covered by sandy substrate. If disturbed, stargazers can bury themselves up to 12 inch to hide from predators’ sand. [6] Stargazers utilize their camouflaged location in the sand to wait for prey to swim by. [12] Northern Stargazers primarily feed on small fish that swim above them in the sand. [6] Their eyes are situated on top of the head and poke up through the sand, hence the name stargazer. [13] The eyes of the northern stargazer are also home to an electrical organ that sits under each eye. The electrical apparatus is composed of 200 thin layers of electric tissue which gives it a jelly or mucus like appearance. [8] The origin of this organ is still underdetermined with the best logical supposition that the electric organ was derived by an unusual modification of a portion of one or more of the eye muscles. The organ is believed to not only be used to threaten predators from above as the fish lies buried in the sand, but to also stun prey. [6] The stargazer's scientific name is Astroscopus guttatus where Astroscopus means "one who aims at the stars" and guttatus translating into "speckled" – referring to the white spots on the fish's back.
Stargazers lay small, transparent eggs on the bottoms of bays in the late spring early summer. These eggs float to the surface after they are released. They hatch into larvae which grow up to 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in). From there, the fish will continue to grow rapidly as it lives on its yolk sac. When the fish reaches 6–7 millimeters long, it will begin eating other nearby younger fish larva. After approximately one month, the fish will slowly grow a dark coloring and develop the electrical organs from eye muscles when they are 12–15 mm (0.5–0.6 in). [6] As a juvenile, the northern stargazer travels in schools as it leaves the shoreline during the winter to avoid the serve cold only returning to the bay in the spring. After four to six years the fish has grown to 12–13 inches in length and them migrates to the sandy bottoms some distance off the coast where it lives permanently. This is also when the fish becomes reproductively active releasing eggs and sperm in the early spring and breeding around May or June. [6]
The Northern Stargazer was most recently assessed by the IUCN Red List of Threaten Species in 2014 and was listed as Least Concern. The current population trend for the species is unknown and there is no known major threat. [1] As for use and trade, the Northern Stargazer occurs rarely as bycatch in bottom trawls but is not utilized. [14]
The northern stargazer was first described by Charles Conrad Abbott in 1860. [3] [2]
Sand stargazers are blennioids; perciform marine fish of the family Dactyloscopidae. Found in temperate to tropical waters of North and South America; some may also inhabit brackish environments. The giant sand stargazer is the largest at 15 cm in length; all other species are under 10 cm.
The stargazers are a family, Uranoscopidae, of labriform ray-finned fish that have eyes on top of their heads. The family includes about 51 species in eight genera, all marine and found worldwide in shallow and deep saltwaters.
This glossary of ichthyology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in ichthyology, the study of fishes.
The stone loach is a European species of fresh water ray-finned fish in the family Nemacheilidae. It is one of nineteen species in the genus Barbatula. Stone loaches live amongst the gravel and stones of fast flowing water where they can search for food. The most distinctive feature of this small fish is the presence of barbels around the bottom jaw, which they use to detect their invertebrate prey. The body is a mixture of brown, green and yellow.
The Gulf torpedo or variable electric ray, is a species of electric ray in the family Torpedinidae. It is found in the Indian Ocean, but may represent a species flock of several local endemic species. It is distinguishable from other Torpedo species in its range by its ornate dorsal coloration. Another common name, marbled electric ray, is not to be confused with Torpedo marmorata.
The marbled electric ray is a species of electric ray in the family Torpedinidae found in the coastal waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea to South Africa. This benthic fish inhabits rocky reefs, seagrass beds, and sandy and muddy flats in shallow to moderately deep waters. It can survive in environments with very little dissolved oxygen, such as tidal pools. The marbled electric ray has a nearly circular pectoral fin disc and a muscular tail that bears two dorsal fins of nearly equal size and a large caudal fin. It can be identified by the long, finger-like projections on the rims of its spiracles, as well as by its dark brown mottled color pattern, though some individuals are plain-colored. Males and females typically reach 36–38 cm (14–15 in) and 55–61 cm (22–24 in) long respectively.
The spotted stingaree is an uncommon species of stingray in the family Urolophidae, endemic to shallow waters along the coast of southern Australia. It favors rocky reefs and seagrass beds. This species can be readily identified by its nearly circular, dark-colored pectoral fin disc, adorned with a complex pattern of white or cream spots. Its eastern and western forms differ slightly in coloration and have been regarded as separate species. There is a skirt-shaped curtain of skin between its nostrils. Its tail is fairly thick and terminates in a short leaf-shaped caudal fin; a relatively large dorsal fin is present just in front of the stinging spine.
Samaridae is a family of crested flounders, small flatfishes native to the Indo-Pacific. The family contains four genera with a total of 29 species.
Coastal fish, also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf. Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish, inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone. Coastal fish can be contrasted with oceanic fish or offshore fish, which inhabit the deep seas beyond the continental shelves.
The common dragonet is a species of dragonet which is widely distributed in the eastern North Atlantic where it is common near Europe from Norway and Iceland southwards. It is a demersal species that occurs over sand bottoms. It lives to a maximum age of around seven years. It is caught in bycatch by fisheries and is used in the aquarium trade.
Cancelloxus burrelli, the slender platanna-klipfish, is a species of clinid found in subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean along the South African coast from the Orange River to Algoa Bay in South Africa. It can be found from the intertidal zone down to about 20 metres (66 ft). This species can reach a maximum length of 12 centimetres (4.7 in) TL.
Dollfus' stargazer is a fish of the family Uranoscopidae, widespread in the Western Indian Ocean: Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf. It is a marine demersal fish, and occurs at depths down to about 46 metres (151 ft). It was named in honour of Dr R. P. Dollfus who led an expedition to Egypt in 1928–1929 and who brought back some specimens of this fish which he mistakenly identified as Uranoscopus affinis. These were new to science and became the type specimens of the new species U. dollfusi, with the Gulf of Suez being the type locality.
The Atlantic stargazer is a marine, subtropical fish of family Uranoscopidae. Its body is suited for living on the sea floor, and is one of few fish capable of bioelectrogenesis, or the ability to generate an electric charge.
The striped cusk-eel is a species of fish in the family Ophidiidae. It is found in the northwest Atlantic.
Brachysomophis cirrocheilos, also known as the stargazer snake eel, is a benthic marine fish belonging to the family Ophichthidae. The stargazer snake eel is a large fish which grows up to 159 cm (63 in) long.
Ogcocephalus radiatus or the polka-dot batfish is an arrow-shaped fish in the family Ogcocephalidae with an elongated thin tail. It is dorso-ventrally flattened with round pectoral fins that sit flat on the bottom of the sea floor. It uses its pectoral fins and pelvic fins to "walk" along the bottom in a side-to-side shuffling motion.
The southern stargazer is a species of marine fish in the family Uranoscopidae and genus Astroscopus. They are native to the United States.
Pseudorhombus arsius, the largetooth flounder, is a species of left-eyed flatfish. As an adult, the dark side of its body, where its eyes are located, is on the left side. It belongs to the family Paralichthyidae. As Rhombus polyspilos, it was named as the type species of the genus Pseudorhombus. It is an Indo-Pacific species and is caught by both recreational and commercial fisheries.
Astroscopus, the electric stargazers, is a genus of stargazers, a type of percomorph fish from the family Uranoscopidae, part of the order Labriformes. The species in this genus are anatomically distinct uranoscopids, being characterized by internal nares and being the only group of marine bony fish having organs which produce electricity which are derived from the extraocular muscles. They are found on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas.
Uranoscopus brunneus, the dark-finned stargazer, is a member of the group Uranoscopidae, the benthic living fishes distributed worldwide in tropical and temperate oceans.
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