Species: Gillellus searcheri, Searcher sand-stargazer
cheek to tail base: row white spots
belly scaleless
Gillellus searcheri Dawson, 1977
Searcher sand-stargazer
Body compressed, tapering to tail; head moderate size; eyes not on stalks; lower lips with skin flaps, none on top lips; 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 + XVII-XX (total XX-XXIII), 17 (16-19); segmented anal rays 31 (30-32); pectoral rays 13 (12-14);tail fin with some branched rays; lateral line continuous, bends down under dorsal fin elements 13-18 (12-18); scales smooth; head, pectoral base and belly scaleless; total lateral-line scales 68 (64-73); scales in straight (posterior) part of lateral line 11 (9-13).
Whitish with ~ 10-11 dark mottled saddles that tend to merge into on another across back and on upper half of sides; a row of white spots in pale interspaces along upper flank, another row along lower flank below dark bars; dorsal + tail fins spotted.
Size: reaches 3.5 cm.
Habitat: sandy bottoms.
Depth: 1-15 m.
Mexico (Islas Tres Marias and Nayarit) to Panama.
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 only
- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom only
- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- No Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic worms
- Data
- Bony fishes
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Egg Type
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- Pelagic larva
- No data
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
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- All species
- East Pacific endemic
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Mexican + Panamic provinces endemic
- Continent
- TEP endemic
- Continent only
- All species
- Continental TEP endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (Costa Rica to Ecuador + Galapagos, Clipperton, Cocos, Malpelo)
- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 3.5
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 15
