The solution to Bit-o-Critter round 21

We have a new face in the BoC winners circle this week.  Sarah F. correctly identified the critter from round 21 as a stargazer.  That's a pretty impressive effort, because I didn't give you much to go on.  If you've never met one before, stargazers are bottom-dwelling fish that are the consummate lie-in-wait predator.  And when I say bottom-dwelling, I mean IN the bottom.  Usually all you can see is the grumpy looking eyes and mouth, both of which have migrated to the top of the head over evolutionary time, because they bury the rest in sand for camouflage.  They are not related to flounder or other flatfishes, though, which becomes abundantly clear if one ever leaves the sand to hit a passing bait or fishing lure; no, they are a beefy bulldog of a fish.  The other important difference from flatfishes is that the eyes and mouth are truly on the top of the stargazer's head, whereas the eyes of flounder have both migrated to one side of the head (this process can be seen during development) and the mouth remains terminal.

Nice job Sarah!

Comments

[Michael]

What a scary looking fish! Well done Sarah F on identifying it. I'm not sure I would want to come across one of these guys on my next fishing trip :) Thank you for the informative post!