Genus: Xenocephalus, Freckled Stargazer, Stargazers
D no spines
chin - bony converging ridges
behind operculum: 1 blunt, flat spine
body scaled
XENOCEPHALUS
STARGAZERS
Body short, thick, tapering to rear; head square, top covered with exposed bones; mouth large, vertical, without skin flaps; front of lower jaw with a pair of converging bony ridges separated by a deep groove; eye large, on top of head; preopercle without spines, with a long, flattened wing-like appendage on lower corner; operculum ridged, spine behind upper corner is prominent, flat, blunt and curved up; dorsal fin without spines; body with imbedded scales.
A genus with 3 species found in the W Atlantic and W Pacific; the W Atlantic species in our area.
