The Sand Stargazer Family – Dactyloscopidae

There are currently two members of the Sand Stargazer or Dactyloscopidae Family, both from the Pacific Ocean, presented in this website:

FROM THE PACIFIC (2):

The Sand Stargazer or Dactyloscopidae Family has forty-four global members that have been placed in nine genera of which twenty-four species are found in Mexican waters, five in the Atlantic Ocean and nineteen in the Pacific Ocean. They are known as miraestrellas in Mexico

The Sand Stargazer are small-sized fish with the largest species having a maximum length of 15.0 cm (5.9 inches). They have elongated cigar-shaped bodies that taper toward the tail. They are generally a drab “sand color” (light tan) with darker blotches dorsally. They have a deep broad head with protruding eyes on top looking skyward, a large upturned mouth with skin flaps that function to keep sand out of their mouth, tubular nostrils, a protruding lower jaw, small minute teeth, and large gill openings. Their anal fin has 2 spines, 21 to 44 rays, and a long base; their dorsal fin has 7 to 23 spines and 12 to 36 rays and a long base and can be divided or continuous; their pelvic fins are found under the throat and have free tips. They are covered with large smooth scales and their lateral line is bent, high on the side of the body at the front, and extends to the caudal fin base.

The Sand Stargazers are found in temperate and tropical waters of North and South America.

From a conservation perspective the Sand Stargazers are currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations. They are prone to habitat loss, including mangroves, from coastal development. They are poorly studied and very little is known about their behavioral patterns. They live sedentary obscure lives in shallow coastal waters, normally out of the surge zone, and are seldom seen by humans. They spend most of their time buried in sand substrate with only their eyes and the top of their head exposed. This affords them protection from predation and allows them to exist as lie in wait ambush predators. They consume small invertebrates and fish. Reproduction is poorly understood but they do have a unique trait whereby males carry the eggs under their pectoral fins for extended periods of time.