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Species: Stellifer venezuelae, Venezuelan Stardrum

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head low, wide, firm, with front ridges
eye large
D X
mouth under snout
lower jaw: central row teeth not enlarged
gill rakers short, 25-31
preopercle 7-10 short spines
pelvic short
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.


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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
Diet
  • Data
  • Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
Egg Type
  • Data
  • Pelagic
  • Pelagic larva
Global Endemism
  • All species
  • Greater Caribbean endemic
  • West Atlantic Endemic
Regional Endemism
  • Caribbean endemic
  • Continent
  • Continent only
  • GC endemic
  • All species
Residency
  • Resident
Climate Zone
  • Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
  • Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
IUCN Red List
  • Least concern
  • Listed
CITES
  • Not listed
Length Max
  • 25
Depth Range Min
  • 2
Depth Range Max
  • 30