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Eastern Stargazer
Kathetostoma laeve Bloch & Schneider, 1801
An Eastern Stargazer on a sandy bottom.
An Eastern Stargazer emerging from the sand.
The Eastern Stargazer can be recognised by its large, squarish head, tapering scaleless body and upward pointing mouth and eyes. It has a large backward-directed spine just behind the operculum, and large pectoral fins.
The Eastern Stargazer is usually grey to brown dorsally and white below. The pectoral and caudal fins have white margins and the body often has two dark bands across the back.
It grows to 75 cm in length. Night divers have been bitten by this fish.
The species lives mostly in bays, estuaries and near shore areas, often on sandy substrates.
The Eastern Stargazer is known from temperate marine waters from central New South Wales to south-western Western Australia, including Tasmania. Fish occurring in south-western Western Australia may be a distinct species.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Gomon, M.F. in Gomon, M.F, C.J.M. Glover & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- Hutchins, B. & R. Swainston. 1986. Sea Fishes of Southern Australia. Complete Field Guide for Anglers and Divers. Swainston Publishing. Pp. 180.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
