Dactyloscopus moorei
Speckled Stargazer
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Dactyloscopidae (Sand Stargazers)
Dactyloscopus
Dactyloscopus moorei (Speckled Stargazer)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Stalked eyes, continuous dorsal fin originating on nape, relatively short arched anterior section of lateral line. Dorsal profile of head slightly concave posterior to eye, ventral profile broadly rounded. Eyestalk about as long as orbit diameter. Anterior naris tubular, posterior naris a single pore on anterior rim of preorbital bone. Mouth strongly oblique. Pedicel of premaxilla extends beyond posterior margin of eye. Jaw teeth small, conical, in two rows. Fimbriae on both lips and operculum. Opercular fimbriae 9-22, increasing with growth. Principal preopercular sensory pores 3, usually branched (3-18). Measurements (% SL): head length 19.7%, head width 13.6%, orbit diameter 2.8%, upper jaw length 8%, pre-dorsal-fin length 18.3%, body depth 12.7%, caudal peduncle depth 4.9%. Pectoral fin 13 rays. Dorsal fin 9-11 spines, 26-30 rays, with notch between first 3 or 4 spines and remainder. Anal fin 2 spines, 30-34 rays. Caudal fin 10 rays, 6-8 branched. Scales on body, absent on head, pectoral fin base, and vent region. Scales between dorsal fin origin and lateral line 3 or 4, between dorsal fin base and posterior part of lateral line arch 1.5 or 2. Lateral line scales 43-47. Caudal vertebrae 31-34.
Upper surface of head and body blotched or irregularly barred with brown, upper flank flecked with brown, with subtle indication of stripes along scale rows.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from North Carolina to Texas
Texas
Habitat Associations
Depth range 3-13.7 m
Biology
Maximum known size 75.3 mm SL
Burrows in soft sandy bottom, where it waits for prey, with only the eyes, nose and mouth protruding.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2007-10-18.
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: bycatch.
References
Hoese and Moore 1977 (as D. tridigitatus)
Dawson 1982
Robins and Ray 1986
Boschung 1992
Smith 1997
Williams 2002b
Hoese and Moore 1998
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Dawson, C.E. (1982) Atlantic sand stargazers (Pisces: Dactyloscopidae), with description of one new genus and seven new species. Bull. Mar. Sci. 32(1):14-85.
Williams, J.T. (2003) Dactyloscopidae. Stargazers. p. 1750-1753. In K.E. Carpenter (ed.) FAO species identification guide for fishery purposes. The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic. Vol. 3: Bony fishes part 2 (Opistognathidae to Molidae), sea turtles and marine mammals.
Comments On Dactyloscopus moorei