Northern Stargazer

The northern stargazer has a blackish brown body covered in white spots that gradually increase in size towards the rear of the body. It has three dark horizontal stripes on its (white) tail. Another identifying feature for stargazers is the location of the lateral line. In most fish species the lateral line follows a straight direction or gentle curve on the side of the body. But in Astroscopus, the lateral lines that begin on the gill opening then run upward at a sharp angle until the two lines lie almost together, one on each side of the dorsal fin. This adaptation allows the fish to remain buried while keeping the lateral line operational. The southern stargazer, A. y-graecum, closely resembles the northern stargazer in appearance and life history. Two ways to tell the two species apart look at the size and density of white spots on the back of the fish. The northern stargazer possesses more closely set white spots compared to the southern stargazers large more spaced spots. Another way to tell the difference between the two is to look at the difference in tail striping among the two. The northern stargazer's middle tail stripe extends on the rear portion of the body. Whereas on the southern stargazer, the stripe does not extend past the tail. Northern stargazers have a robust body filled with small scales that becomes slender posteriorly. …

Astroscopus guttatus is typically found in coastal waters from New York to Virginia. But there have been sightings of the northern stargazer in the waters of South Carolina. Northern stargazers can be found in deep ocean water at depths up to 120 feet or 37 meters. The northern stargazer enjoys rocky reef and soft bottom habitats. In places lacking natural reefs, scientists experimented with placing oyster cages on the bottom of the ocean floor. These scientists observed an increase in fish diversity including an increase in northern stargazer sightings following the addition of the oyster cage as the cage created additional reef like habitat for fish.

Northern stargazers live primarily along the eastern seaboard of the United States. They do not swim much except when migrating as they swim clumsily and slowly. Instead, northern stargazers bury themselves in the sand using short side to side motions of their ventral fins and tail to bury themselves until three quarters of their body plane is covered by sandy substrate. If disturbed, stargazers can bury themselves beneath as many as 12 inches of sand to hide from predators. Stargazers utilize their camouflaged location in the sand to wait for prey to swim by. Northern stargazers primarily feed on small fish that swim above them in the sand. Their eyes are situated on top of the head and poke up through the sand, hence the name stargazer. The eyes of the northern stargazer are also home to an electrical organ that sits under each eye. The electrical apparatus is composed of 200 thin layers of electric tissue which gives it a jelly or mucus like appearance. The origin of this organ is still undetermined with the best logical supposition that the electric organ was derived by an unusual modification of a portion of one or more of the eye muscles. The organ is believed to not only threaten predators from above as the fish lies buried in the sand, but also to stun prey. …