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Species: Stellifer stellifer, Southern Stardrum

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head low, wide, spongy, translucent
D 17-20
gill rakers 33-39
preoperculum: 3 strong spines
head scales smooth

Stellifer stellifer (Bloch, 1790)

Southern Stardrum

Body oblong, moderately compressed; head deep and broad, skull cavernous, translucent, spongy to touch; mouth large, oblique, opens at front; chin with 6 pores, no barbels; snout with 8 pores; preopercle with 3 strong bony spines at angle sometimes with smaller spines above those; gill rakers long and slender, 33-39; top corner of gill opening notched; deep notch between spiny and soft parts of dorsal fin, X-XI + I-III, 17-20; anal fin with short base II, 8-9, 2nd spine long (nearly length of 1st ray) and strong; tail fin long and pointed; scales rough on body, smooth on head and breast; 48-51 pored scales on lateral line; soft dorsal with 2-3 rows of scales along its base, membranes thickly covered with scales along 2/3 of fin height; the lateral line extends to the center of the end of the tail fin.

Silvery grey, darker above; upper 1/3 of 1st dorsal dusky with a dark tip; pectorals, pelvics and anal yellowish; inside gill cover and mouth pale.

Reaches 20 cm.

On sandy mud bottoms.

Depth range: 2-35 m.

Honduras to SE Brazil.


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Salinity
  • Brackish
  • Marine
Inshore/Offshore
  • Inshore
  • Inshore Only
Water Column Position
  • Bottom
Habitat
  • Sand & gravel
  • Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
  • Soft bottom only
  • Estuary
  • Mud
FishBase Habitat
  • Demersal
Feeding Group
  • Carnivore
  • Data
  • Planktivore
Diet
  • Data
  • Zooplankton
  • Bony fishes
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean non-endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Also in Brazil
  • Continent
  • Continent only
  • Extends South of GC
  • GC non-endemic
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
IUCN Red List
  • Data deficient
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 20
Depth Range Min
  • 2
Depth Range Max
  • 35