Species: Gillellus inescatus, Flagfin Stargazer
body: 8 bars

Gillellus inescatus Williams, 2002
Flagfin Stargazer
Body compressed, tapering to tail; head moderate sized; eyes on top of head, not on stalks, with a circlet of flaps at tip; mouth upturned, with a protruding lower jaw, 4 skin flaps on lower lip, none on top lip; upper part of operculum with a frill of skin flaps; dorsal fin in 2 sections, 1st section a finlet of III spines (1st spine elongated and with a fleshy flag at tip), with origin on nape, sometimes 1-2 free spines behind this, then main fin, XIV spines 26 soft rays; anal fin with 30 rays; lateral line bends down just behind spiny section of dorsal fin; pelvic fins inserted under throat, each with I, 3, rays thickened and free at the tips; scales large, smooth; 23 scales on arched section of lateral line, 20 on straight section, total 43; head and underbelly behind pelvic fins scaleless.
White, top of head with blue dots on snout, cheeks and back to pectoral base; 4 thin bars back and down from eye; cheek with 3 broad diagonal bars; operculum white, circled with a red-brown ring; 8 red-brown saddles on upper 2/3 of body from nape to tail fin base; flap on tip of 1st dorsal spine with red-brown edges.
Reaches 3.5 cm.
Lives in sand bottoms.
Depth range: 9-30 m.
Navassa Island to the St John, USVI

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
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Brooded
- Data
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- Greater Caribbean endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Caribbean endemic
- GC endemic
- Island (s)
- Island (s) only
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- IUCN Red List
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- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 3.5
- Depth Range Min
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- 9
- Depth Range Max
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- 30