Species: Dactyloscopus elongatus, Slender stargazer
mouth pigmented
lip skin flaps: ~15 above, ~ 28 below
D ~XIII, 34; A ~39
Dactyloscopus elongatus Myers & Wade, 1946
Slender stargazer
Body compressed, tapering to tail; head large, flattened above, rounded and narrow at front; eyes protrusible, on stalks, with papillae (those tiny to rudimentary); tubular nostrils, rear nostril opens near base of front nostril; lower jaw projecting well beyond lower lips; both lips with skin flaps, 15 (13-17) above, 28 (22-32) below; operculum with 14 (9-19) skin flaps; dorsal fin origin on nape, before level of upper corner of operculum, front IV (II-V) spines separate from fin and without membranes, XIII (XII-XIV), 34 (33-36); anal II, 39 (38-41); pectoral usually 13 rays; no notch under tail base; dorsal and anal fins not joined by membranes to base of tail fin; tail fin short (~9.9% of SL) with some branched rays; lateral line continuous, bends down under last dorsal spine; scales smooth, head and belly scaleless; lateral line scales 53 (51-54); scales in several rows (5-6 rows at front) above all of lateral line arch.
Inside mouth pigmented; snout, top of head, and nape with dark network; upper body with dark scale edges, lower body with dark speckling; dorsal and anal lightly shaded with brown; tail fin may have narrow dark bar on its base. Small fish with dark saddles along top of back, 3 dark stripes, dark spot on tail fin base.
Size: 9.7 cm.
Habitat: coastal sandy areas and estuaries.
Depth: 1-20 m.
Southern Baja and the lower Gulf of California to Central Mexico.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Beach
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sand & gravel
- Soft bottom only
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- No Data
- Diet
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- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- No Data
- Mobile benthic gastropods/bivalves
- Bony fishes
- Egg Type
-
- No data
- Pelagic larva
- Benthic
- Global Endemism
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- East Pacific endemic
- Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP) endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Continental TEP endemic
- Continent only
- Continent
- Cortez + Mexican provinces endemic
- TEP endemic
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Northern Tropical (Mexican Province to Nicaragua + Revillagigedos)
- Northern Subtropical (Cortez Province + Sinaloan Gap)
- IUCN Red List
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- Listed
- Least concern
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 9.7
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 20
