Species: Gillellus arenicola, Sandloving stargazer, Sandy sand-stargazer
lip flaps: lower only
belly scaleless
Gillellus arenicola Gilbert, 1890
Sandloving stargazer, Sandy sand-stargazer
Body compressed, tapering to tail; head moderate size; eyes not on stalks; tip of lower jaw fleshy, pointed, conical, strongly protruding; lower lips only with 4 skin flaps; tubular nostrils; dorsal fin origin on nape, before level of upper corner of operculum, a finlet of II (II-III) spines at front, then I-II free spines, then main fin, II-III + I-II + X-XII (total XIII-XV), 29 (27-31); segmented anal rays 35-36 (34-38); pectoral rays 12 (12-13); tail fin with some branched rays;lateral line continuous, bends down between dorsal fin elements 15-16 (14-17); scales smooth; head, pectoral base and belly scaleless; total lateral-line scales 53 (51-55), scales in straight (posterior) part of lateral line 28 (27-29).
Whitish; back with about 7 short dark saddles alternating with ~6 dark hour-glass-shaped bars that extend to middle of side.
Size: grows to 5.5 cm.
Habitat: sandy bottoms.
Depth: 10-40 m.
Southern Baja California, and central Mexico to western Panama.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine Only
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom only
- Bottom
- Habitat
-
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- No Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
-
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Data
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
-
- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
-
- All species
- East Pacific endemic
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- 3 provinces (Cortez + Mexican + Panamic) endemic
- TEP endemic
- All species
- Continent only
- Continental TEP endemic
- Continent
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 40
- Length Max
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- 5.5
