''Kathetostoma'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Uranoscopidae, the stargazers. They are

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer o ...

predators which are found in the western Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, with most species around Australia and New Zealand.

Characteristics

They have a naked body with a head which has a quadrilateral cross section with the eyes directed upward. These have a small, bony orbital rim and are separated by a scaleless rectangular space. The mouth is armed with a number of large canines which sit among smaller canines. The chin is smoothly curved and the lips have short ridge-like

crenulation In a geological context, crenulation or crenulation cleavage is a fabric formed in metamorphic rocks such as phyllite, schist and some gneiss by two or more stress directions causing the formation of the superimposed foliations. Formation Crenu ...

s. There are four spines on the ventral margin of preopercle and the anterior end of isthmus has two obvious forward pointing spines. There is a prominent spine on the cleithrum which is sheathed in skin and is located above the base of the

pectoral fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish aquatic locomotion, swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the vertebral column ...

base. The

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

consists of pores in the skin placed high on side near the base of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

. The dorsal fin is continuous and has 13–18 segmented rays, the

anal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...

has 12–18 segmented rays and the

s are very large and semi-circular while the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s are moderately large. This is a harmless species to humans and has a flattish head.

Species

The following species are classified within ''Kathetostoma'': *'' Kathetostoma albigutta'' (

Bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

, 1892) - Lancer stargazer *'' Kathetostoma averruncus''

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

& Bollman, 1890 - Smooth stargazer, *'' Kathetostoma binigrasella'' Gomon & Roberts, 2011 - Banded stargazer *'' Kathetostoma canaster'' Gomon & Last, 1987 *'' Kathetostoma cubana'' Barbour, 1941 Spiny stargazer, *'' Kathetostoma fluviatilis'' Hutton, 1872 River stargazer *'' Kathetostoma giganteum'' Haast, 1873 Giant stargazer *''

Kathetostoma laeve ''Kathetostoma'' is a genus of bony fish from the Family (biology), family Uranoscopidae, the stargazer (fish), stargazers. They are demersal predators which are found in the western Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, with most species around ...

'' (

Bloch Bloch is a surname of German origin. Notable people with this surname include: A *Adele Bloch-Bauer (1881–1925), Austrian entrepreneur *Albert Bloch (1882–1961), American painter *Alexandre Bloch (1857–1919), French painter *Alfred Bloch ( ...

& Schneider, 1801) Common stargazer, *'' Kathetostoma nigrofasciatum'' Waite & McCulloch, 1915 Deepwater stargazer,

References

fishbase.de/summery/12920 {{Authority control Uranoscopidae Taxa named by Albert Günther