Species: Stellifer venezuelae, Venezuelan Stardrum
eye large

lower jaw: central row teeth not enlarged
preopercle 7-10 short spines
scales atop head rough to between eyes
Stellifer venezuelae (Schultz, 1945)
Venezuelan Stardrum
Body oblong, moderately compressed; head low and broad, skull cavernous, firm to touch with ridges at front; eye large (19-24% of head); mouth ~horizontal, opens under snout; teeth on lower jaw equal in size, no enlarged central row; chin with 5 pores, no barbels; snout with 8 pores; preopercle serrated; gill rakers short and slender, 25-31; top corner of gill opening notched; deep notch between spiny and soft parts of dorsal fin, X + I-II, 20-22; anal fin with short base II, 8, 2nd spine short and stout; pelvics much shorter than pectorals; tail fin long and pointed; scales rough on body & on top of head to between eyes, smooth on snout and fins; 52-55 pored scales on lateral line; soft dorsal with 2-3 rows of scales along its base, front membranes almost entirely covered with scales, rear membranes scaleless; the lateral line extends to the center of the end of the tail fin.
Brassy silver, darker above; fins pale to yellowish, tail with dark end; spiny dorsal with dark tip; inside mouth pale; inside gill cover pale, with dark speckling at top-front.
Reaches 25 cm.
On sandy mud bottoms; also in estuaries.
Depth range: 2-30 m.
Honduras to Venezuela.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Soft bottom only
- Estuary
- Mud
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Caribbean endemic
- Continent
- Continent only
- GC endemic
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 25
- Depth Range Min
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- 2
- Depth Range Max
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- 30