Northern Stargazer

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The Northern Stargazer (Astroscopus Guttatus) is a fish that can reach lengths of 22in (56 cm) and are located on the eastern shores between the states of North Carolina and New York United States. The Northern Stargazer can be found up to depths of 120ft (36 m).

The Northern Stargazer has a blackish brown body with white spots that gradually get bigger as the spots go from the head to the tail. It has three dark horizontal lines on its tail. The mouth of the Stargazer is facing up with so it can attack its prey while hiding in the sandy bottom of the Chesapeake Bay or other large bodies of water. The top of the Stargazer has electric organs so if something were to touch it they would get stunned. Stagazers have a flat body with a lot of body mass up front near the mouth.

The Northern Stargazers have a limited environment where they live primarily residing in the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. They live under the sand and wait for their prey (usually smaller fish) to come to them. Their eyes can stick out of the sand a short distance and search for fish above the sand partly contributing to its name. Stargazer's scientific name being Astroscopus Guttatus where Astroscopus means "one who aims at the stars" and Guttatus translating into "speckled" — referring to the white spots on the fish's back.

The Stargazer lays transparent and small eggs on the bottom of the bay. These eggs slowly float to the surface after they are released. They hatch into larvae and grow up to 6 to 7 mm. They slowly grow a dark coloring and grow the electrical organs when they are 12 to 15 mm. After this they will swim to the bottom and turn into adults.Media:Image 0688.jpg