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.