stargazer

1 someone indifferent to the busy world; "in the Odyssey Homer tells of lotus-eaters who live in dreamy indolence" [syn: lotus-eater]

2 a physicist who studies astronomy [syn: astronomer, uranologist]

3 heavy-bodied marine bottom-lurkers with eyes on flattened top of the head

English

Noun

1. One who stargazes.

For other meanings of stargazer, see Stargazer (disambiguation).

The stargazers are a family Uranoscopidae of perciform fish that have eyes on top of their heads (thus the name). The family includes about 50 species in 8 genera, all marine and found worldwide in shallow waters.

In addition to the top-mounted eyes, stargazers also have a large upward-facing mouth in a large head. Their usual habit is to bury themselves in sand, and leap upwards to ambush prey (benthic fish and invertebrates) that pass overhead. Some species have a worm-shaped lure growing out of the floor of the mouth, 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 cm up to 90 cm, for the giant stargazer Kathetostoma giganteum.

Stargazers are venomous; they have two large poison spines situated behind the opercle and above the pectoral fins. They can also cause electric shocks.

Genera and species

• Genus Astroscopus
  • Southern Stargazer, Astroscopus y-graecum (Cuvier, 1829)
• Genus Genyagnus
  • Spotted stargazer, Genyagnus monopterygius (Schneider, 1801)
• Genus Gnathagnus
  • Armoured blenny, Gnathagnus armatus (Kaup, 1858)
  • Gnathagnus cribratus Kishimoto, 1989
  • Freckled stargazer, Gnathagnus egregius (Jordan & Thompson, 1905)
  • Bulldog stargazer, Gnathagnus innotabilis Waite, 1904
• Genus Ichthyscopus
• Genus Kathetostoma
  • Lancer stargazer, Kathetostoma albigutta (Bean, 1892)
  • Smooth stargazer, Kathetostoma averruncus Jordan & Bollman, 1890
  • Kathetostoma canaster Gomon & Last, 1987
  • Spiny stargazer, Kathetostoma cubana Barbour, 1941
  • Kathetostoma fluviatilis Hutton, 1872
  • Giant stargazer, Kathetostoma giganteum Haast, 1873
  • Common stargazer, Kathetostoma laeve (Bloch & Schneider, 1801)
  • Deepwater stargazer, Kathetostoma nigrofasciatum Waite & McCulloch, 1915
• Genus Pleuroscopus
• Genus Selenoscopus
• Genus Uranoscopus
• Genus 'Xenocephalus''

Trivia

Stargazer is also the name for a mutant mouse line that contains a mutation of a gene encoding the protein, stargazin, a transmembrane protein that acts as an accessory subunit of mammalian glutamate receptors. Stargazer animals are ataxic, owing to deficits in cerebellar function, and manifest epileptic seizures.

References

External links

• YouTube video of a Southern Stargazer near Utila, Honduras.
• Stargazer - Amateur Astrophotographer with semiprofessional equipment in Europe

Chaldean, astroalchemist, astrogeologist, astrographer, astrologer, astrologian, astromancer, astronomer, astrophysicist, genethliac, horoscoper, horoscopist, radar astronomer, radio astronomer, solar physicist, uranographer, uranographist, uranologist, uranometrist