Species: Stellifer chaoi, Chao Stardrum

Stellifer chaoi Aguilera & Solano & Valdez, 1983

Chao Stardrum

Body elongate, more or less compressed; head large, low and broad, skull cavernous, translucent, spongy to touch, wide between eyes; mouth moderately large, oblique, opens at front; chin with 4 pores, no barbels; snout with 8 pores; preopercle with 3-4 prominent bony spines at angle, 3-5 small ones above those; gill rakers long and slender, 43-49, longest raker >filament at angle of gill arch; top corner of gill opening notched; deep notch between spiny and soft parts of dorsal fin, X-XII + I, 19-23; anal fin with short base II, 8-9, 2nd spine long and thick; tail fin with a blunt point; pored lateral line scales 46-49; scales mainly rough on body, mainly smooth on head, 1-2 rows rough on center of nape; soft dorsal and anal fins covered with smooth scales; the lateral line extends to the center of the end of the tail fin.

Silvery grey with yellow reflections; pectorals, pelvics and anal pale to blackish; a dark band at front behind teeth; 1st gill arch dark.

Reaches 13 cm.

Shallow coastal sand and mud bottoms, including estuaries.

Depth range: 3-20 m.

Panama to Venezuela.