The stargazers are a

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, of perciform

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fish or actinopterygians, is a class of bony fish that comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. They are so called because of their lightly built fins made of webbings of sk ...

that have eyes on top of their heads (hence the name). The family includes about 51 species (one extinct) in eight

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

, all marine and found worldwide in shallow and deep saltwaters.

Description

In addition to the top-mounted eyes, a stargazer also has a large, upward-facing mouth in a large head. Their usual habit is to bury themselves in sand, and leap upwards to ambush prey ( benthic fish and

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s) that pass overhead. Some species have a worm-shaped lure growing out of the floors of their mouths, which they can wiggle to attract prey's attention. Both the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage The fus ...

and

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 ...

s are relatively long; some lack dorsal spines. Lengths range from 18 up to 90 cm, for the giant stargazer ''Kathetostoma giganteum''. Stargazers are

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

; they have two large venomous spines situated behind their opercles and above their

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 ...

s. The species within the genera ''

Astroscopus ''Astroscopus'', the electric stargazers, is a genus of stargazer (fish), stargazers, a type of Percomorpha, percomorph fish from the Family (biology), family Uranoscopidae, part of the Order (biology), order Labriformes. The species in this genu ...

'' and '' Uranoscopus'' can also cause

electric shock An electrical injury (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current. The injury depends on the Current density, density of the current, tissu ...

s. ''Astroscopus'' species have a single

electric organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since develop ...

consisting of modified eye muscles, while '' Uranoscopus'' species have theirs derived from sonic muscles. These two genera within stargazers represent one of eight independent evolutions of bioelectrogenesis. They are unique among

electric fish An electric fish is any fish that can Bioelectrogenesis, generate electric fields, whether to sense things around them, for defence, or to stun prey. Most fish able to produce shocks are also electroreceptive, meaning that they can sense electric ...

in not possessing electroreceptors, meaning that they do not use an electric sense to locate prey.

Star-Gazer Astroscopus y-graecum electric organ site

Stargazers are a delicacy in some cultures (the venom is not poisonous when eaten), and they can be found for sale in some

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling Fish as food, fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between Fisherman, fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish ma ...

s with the electric organ removed. Stargazers are

ambush predator Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture their prey via stealth, luring or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an element of surprise. Unlike pursuit predators, who chase to capture prey u ...

s which camouflage themselves; some can deliver both venom and electric shocks. Ichthyologist

William Leo Smith {{Short pages monitor