Species: Stellifer venezuelae, Venezuelan Stardrum

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.