Spotted stargazer

Genyagnus monopterygius

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth19–450 m
Water temperature8–26 °C
Best monthsMarch, June, and July
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) wild_wind, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by wild_wind · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The spotted stargazer is a stargazer of the family Uranoscopidae, found on the continental shelf around New Zealand and other southern Pacific islands, at depths down to 100 metres (330 ft). It is known to grow up to 45 centimetres (18 in) in length.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Spotted stargazer”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 9 records
February: 8 records
March: 12 records
April: 11 records
May: 10 records
June: 15 records
July: 13 records
August: 3 records
September: 3 records
October: 2 records
November: 6 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 19–450 m · Deepest record: 880 m

0–10 m: 19 records
10–20 m: 174 records
20–30 m: 247 records
30–40 m: 130 records
40–50 m: 91 records
50–60 m: 54 records
60–70 m: 19 records
70–80 m: 28 records
80–90 m: 15 records
90–100 m: 10 records
100–110 m: 9 records
110+ m: 913 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–26 °C

6–8 °C: 1 records
8–10 °C: 14 records
10–12 °C: 52 records
12–14 °C: 412 records
14–16 °C: 68 records
16–18 °C: 283 records
18–20 °C: 5 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 1 records

Photos

(c) wild_wind, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Luca Davenport-Thomas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) wild_wind, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Luca Davenport-Thomas, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Shaun Lee, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Spotted stargazer

Other scientific names: Uranoscopus monopterygius

Similar species

flathead
Kathetostoma giganteum
Banded Stonelifter
Kathetostoma laeve
Speckled Stargazer
Kathetostoma canaster
Uranoscopus cognatus
Long-nosed Stargazer
Ichthyscopus lebeck
Marbled Stargazer
Uranoscopus bicinctus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,754 open-data records from 1900 to 2018.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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