The starry weever, or streaked weever, ''Trachinus radiatus'', is a

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

of the family Trachinidae widespread in the eastern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

from Gibraltar to the

Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...

, and probably further south; it is also known from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. A marine subtropical fish, it grows up to in length.

Description

The starry weever is moderately laterally compressed. The eyes are small, the snout is short and blunt, and the operculum bears a robust venomous spine. Five fan-shaped groups of bony ridges are on the top of the head just behind the eye. The dorsal fin is in two parts, the anterior portion has six or seven spines and the posterior portion has no spines, but 24 to 29 soft rays. The anal fin has two spines and 25 to 29 soft rays. This fish can grow to a maximum length around , but a more common length is . The dorsal colouring is generally whitish, yellowish, or grey, sometimes with some violet or pinkish shades on the head and neck. Numerous brownish or blackish speckles are on the back and sides, some, especially on the flanks near the lateral line, forming ring shapes.

Behaviour

Like other members of the

weever Weevers (or weeverfish) are nine extant species of fishes of family Trachinidae, order Trachiniformes, part of the Percomorpha clade. They are long (up to 37 cm), mainly brown in color, and have venomous spines on their first dorsal fi ...

family, the starry weever lives on the seabed, burying itself in the sediment so that only its eyes and the anterior dorsal fin are above the surface. Poison glands are located at the base of this fin and on the spine on the gill cover. This fish is an

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

, remaining stationary in the sand ready to grab any passing prey of suitable size with its wide, upward-pointing mouth. Its diet consists largely of

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

and other crustaceans, and small fish.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1265618

starry weever The starry weever, or streaked weever, ''Trachinus radiatus'', is a fish of the family Trachinidae widespread in the eastern Atlantic from Gibraltar to the Gulf of Guinea, and probably further south; it is also known from the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Fish of the East Atlantic Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Marine fauna of West Africa Marine fauna of North Africa Fish of Angola Fauna of the Canary Islands