flathead
Kathetostoma giganteum
- Usual depth67–486 m
- Water temperature9–19 °C
- Best monthsJanuary
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) John Barkla, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The giant stargazer is a stargazer of the family Uranoscopidae, found on the continental shelf around New Zealand and endemic to that area.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Giant 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: 1,186 records
- February: 0 records
- March: 5 records
- April: 0 records
- May: 625 records
- June: 124 records
- July: 7 records
- August: 2 records
- September: 0 records
- October: 0 records
- November: 1 records
- December: 49 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 67–486 m · Deepest record: 1,082.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 9–19 °C
Names and classification
- English
- flathead, Giant Stargazer, New Zealand Monkfish
Names in 3 more languages
- Spanish
- Miracielo gigante, Sapo neozelandés
- French
- Uranoscope géant
- Japanese
- オオミシマ
Similar species
Banded StonelifterKathetostoma laeve
- Speckled Stargazer
Kathetostoma canaster
- Banded Stargazer
Kathetostoma binigrasella
- Blackbanded Stargazer
Kathetostoma nigrofasciatum
Spotted stargazerGenyagnus monopterygius
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).
- 10,177 open-data records from 1893 to 2018.
- Species data updated November 3, 2026.
Log what you see on your next dive
The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.