Dactyloscopidae Gill 1859

Angulo, Arturo, Betts, Joel T., González-Alemán, Néstor J., Castañeda, Edgar, Berghe, Eric Van Den, Elías, Diego J., Mcmahan, Caleb D. & Matamoros, Wilfredo A., 2023, Continental fishes of Nicaragua: diversity, distribution and conservation status; with an annotated and illustrated checklist of species and an identification guide to families, Zootaxa 5376 (1), pp. 1-89 : 68

Family Dactyloscopidae Gill 1859 ( Fig. 4M ). Sand Stargazers; Miraestrellas de Arena

Description: Body elongate, tapered; up to 15 cm; head usually broad and deep, with protruding, eyes on top, often stalked; mouth upturned, with a protruding lower jaw; mouth often bordered above and/or below by a fringe of skin flaps; operculum with a fringe of skin flaps; pelvic fins with one spine and three soft rays, jugular; dorsal fin long, continuous or divided, with 7–23 spines and 12–36 soft rays; anal fin with 21–41 soft rays ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Marine (rarely brackish or freshwater); warm temperate to tropical waters in North and South America (Nelson et al. 2016). One genus and one species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Families of continental fishes of Nicaragua, part 3; Achiridae (A), Carangidae (B), Cichlidae (C), Pomacentridae (D), Atherinopsidae (E), Rivulidae (F), Poeciliidae (G), Anablepidae (H), Belonidae (I), Hemiramphidae (J), Mugilidae (K), Gobiesocidae (L), Dactyloscopidae (M) and Lutjanidae (N). Illustrations adapted (with permission) from Nelson et al. (2016) and Angulo et al. (2021).