Species: Astroscopus guttatus, Northern Stargazer

Astroscopus guttatus Abbott, 1860
Northern Stargazer
Body robust; head large, broad, flattened above, partly covered with skin and bony plates, but without spines; a pair of electric organs under 2 triangular to square scaleless areas behind eyes; rear end of rear nostril groove usually closer to rear end of skin over electric organs than to eye, or not much closer to eye; Y shaped process on top of nape short and broad; eyes small on top of head; front nostril round, before eye; rear nostril extended as a crescent shaped groove behind eye; both nostrils with fringed margins; mouth large, vertical, fringed; spine behind upper corner of operculum blunt and skin covered, not obvious; 2 close-together dorsal fins, III-IV sharp spines; + I, 13-15; anal rays 0, 13-14; pectoral 19-21; body covered with scales; scales in midlateral series about 80.
Greyish brown; a large elongate black blotch on each side of chin; tip of lower jaw and upper half of head and back with many irregular white spots of variable size, with larger spots at rear of body; spiny dorsal fin black; soft dorsal fin with ~4 oblique dark bars (1 in juveniles, 3 in adults); anal fin with a black stripe; tail fin white, with ~3 black stripes, the central stripe usually extending forwards along the center of the tail base.
Size: grows to 55 cm.
Inhabits inshore sandy bottoms.
Depth range: 2-36 m.
New York to Florida.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- 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
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Pelagic
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continent
- Continent only
- Extends North of GC
- GC non-endemic
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 55
- Depth Range Min
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- 2
- Depth Range Max
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- 36