Stargazer

Taxobox
name = Stargazer

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = "Uranoscopus sulphureus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Actinopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Uranoscopidae
subdivision_ranks = Genera
subdivision = "Astroscopus" "Genyagnus" "Gnathagnus" "Ichthyscopus" "Kathetostoma" "Pleuroscopus" "Selenoscopus" "Uranoscopus" "Xenocephalus" See text for species.

The stargazers are a family Uranoscopidae of perciform fish that have eyes on top of their heads (thus the name). The family includes about 50 species in 8 genera, all marine and found worldwide in shallow waters.

In addition to the top-mounted eyes, stargazers also have a large upward-facing mouth in a large head. Their usual habit is to bury themselves in sand, and leap upwards to ambush prey (benthic fish and invertebrates) that pass overhead. Some species have a worm-shaped lure growing out of the floor of the mouth, which they can wiggle to attract prey's attention. Both the dorsal and anal fins are relatively long; some lack dorsal spines. Lengths range from 18 cm up to 90 cm, for the giant stargazer "Kathetostoma giganteum".

Stargazers are venomous; they have two large poison spines situated behind the opercle and above the pectoral fins. They can also cause electric shocks.

Genera and species

* Genus "Astroscopus"
** Southern Stargazer, "Astroscopus y-graecum" (Cuvier, 1829)
* Genus "Genyagnus"
** Spotted stargazer, "Genyagnus monopterygius" (Schneider, 1801)
* Genus "Gnathagnus"
** Armoured blenny, "Gnathagnus armatus" (Kaup, 1858)
** "Gnathagnus cribratus" Kishimoto, 1989
** Freckled stargazer, "Gnathagnus egregius" (Jordan & Thompson, 1905)
** Bulldog stargazer, "Gnathagnus innotabilis" Waite, 1904
* Genus "Ichthyscopus"
* Genus "Kathetostoma"
** Lancer stargazer, "Kathetostoma albigutta" (Bean, 1892)
** Smooth stargazer, "Kathetostoma averruncus" Jordan & Bollman, 1890
** "Kathetostoma canaster" Gomon & Last, 1987
** Spiny stargazer, "Kathetostoma cubana" Barbour, 1941
** "Kathetostoma fluviatilis" Hutton, 1872
** Giant stargazer, "Kathetostoma giganteum" Haast, 1873
** Common stargazer, "Kathetostoma laeve" (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
** Deepwater stargazer, "Kathetostoma nigrofasciatum" Waite & McCulloch, 1915
* Genus "Pleuroscopus"
* Genus "Selenoscopus"
* Genus "Uranoscopus"
* Genus 'Xenocephalus"

Trivia

*Stargazer is also the name for a mutant mouse line that contains a mutation of a gene encoding the protein, stargazin, a transmembrane protein that acts as an accessory subunit of mammalian glutamate receptors. Stargazer animals are ataxic, owing to deficits in cerebellar function, and manifest epileptic seizures.
*In March 2004 BBC world reported a school of Stargazer fish eating a leopard who was drinking at a watering hole in Chicago zoo

References

*

External links

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Bd02FUjcI YouTube video of a Southern Stargazer near Utila, Honduras.]