Species: Gillellus chathamensis, Cocos sand-stargazer
lip flaps: lower only
belly scaleless
Gillellus chathamensis Dawson, 1977
Cocos sand-stargazer
Body compressed, tapering to tail; head moderate size; eyes not on stalks; tip of lower jaw slightly protruding, rounded at front; lower lips only with skin flaps (4); tubular nostrils; dorsal fin origin on nape, before level of upper corner of operculum, an isolated finlet of III spines at front, then main fin, III + VIII-XII, 30 (28-32); segmented anal rays 34 (33-36); pectoral rays 13 (12-14);tail fin with some branched rays; lateral line continuous, bends down just under dorsal elements 18-20 (17-21); scales smooth; head, pectoral base and belly scaleless; total lateral-line scales 52 (50-56), scales in straight (posterior) part of lateral line 24 (23-25).
Head whitish with an indistinct bar crossing eyes; body white, with 7 (7-8) dark-edged light grey to brownish saddles across back and upper half of body, may have dark spots on pale interspaces between saddles.
Grows to 3.8 cm.
Habitat: sandy bottoms.
Depth range 1-15 m.
Known only from Cocos.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
-
- Soft bottom only
- Sand & gravel
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- No Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Data
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
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- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- All species
- East Pacific endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Island (s) only
- TEP oceanic island (s) endemic
- All species
- Cocos Island endemic
- Island (s)
- TEP endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Vulnerable
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 3.8
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 15
