Stargazer
The
stargazers are a family,
Uranoscopidae, of perciform fish that have eyes on top of their heads. The family includes about 51 species in eight genera, all marine and found worldwide in shallow saltwaters. 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 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 and anal fins are relatively long; some lack dorsal spines. Lengths range from 18 up to 90 cm, for the giant stargazer
Kathetostoma giganteum. Stargazers are venomous; they have two large poison spines situated behind their opercles and above their pectoral fins. The species within the genera
Astroscopus and
Uranoscopus can also cause electric shocks.
Astroscopus species have a single electric organ consisting of modified eye muscles, while
Uranoscopus species have theirs derived from sonic muscles.