Blackbanded Stargazer

Kathetostoma nigrofasciatum

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth75–510 m
Water temperature9–22 °C
Best monthsFebruary and November
How commonRare

About this species

The deepwater stargazer is a ray-finned fish species in the stargazer family, described in 1915. It is native to the Eastern Indian Ocean.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 0 records
February: 14 records
March: 2 records
April: 0 records
May: 4 records
June: 0 records
July: 2 records
August: 1 records
September: 0 records
October: 2 records
November: 11 records
December: 6 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 75–510 m · Deepest record: 580 m

30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 3 records
50–60 m: 6 records
60–70 m: 6 records
70–80 m: 9 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 2 records
100–110 m: 10 records
110–120 m: 27 records
120–130 m: 26 records
130–140 m: 7 records
140+ m: 119 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–22 °C

8–10 °C: 7 records
10–12 °C: 82 records
12–14 °C: 67 records
14–16 °C: 19 records
16–18 °C: 9 records
18–20 °C: 38 records
20–22 °C: 7 records
22–24 °C: 4 records

Names and classification

English: Blackbanded Stargazer, Deepwater Stargazer

Similar species

flathead
Kathetostoma giganteum
Banded Stonelifter
Kathetostoma laeve
Speckled Stargazer
Kathetostoma canaster
Banded Stargazer
Kathetostoma binigrasella
Spotted stargazer
Genyagnus monopterygius
Uranoscopus cognatus

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).
250 open-data records from 1911 to 2008.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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