bigeye stargazer
Dactyloscopus crossotus Starks, 1913
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Dactyloscopus crossotus, the bigeye stargazer, is a species of sand stargazer native to the coastal Atlantic waters of Florida, United States and from the Bahamas to Brazil where it prefers sandy beaches at depths of from 0 to 3 metres (0.0 to 9.8 ft), occasionally down to 8 metres (26 ft). It buries itself in the sand to ambush prey, leaving only its eyes, mouth and nose exposed. It can reach a maximum length of 7.5 centimetres (3.0 in) TL.
Wikipedia contributors, Dactyloscopus crossotus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T05:59:26.978023+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dactyloscopus crossotus Starks, 1913
- Name authority
- Starks, 1913
- Common name
- bigeye stargazer
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Blenniiformes
- Family
- Dactyloscopidae
- Genus
- Dactyloscopus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderBlenniiformes
- familyDactyloscopidae Gill, 1859
- genusDactyloscopus Gill, 1859
- speciesDactyloscopus crossotus Starks, 1913
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dactyloscopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dactyloscopus byersorum Dawson, 1969 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus fallax Dawson, 1975 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| fringed stargazerDactyloscopus fimbriatus (Reid, 1935) | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus lacteus (Myers & Wade, 1946) | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus poeyi Gill, 1861 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus zelotes Jordan & Gilbert, 1896 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus heraldi Dawson, 1975 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| moonstruck stargazerDactyloscopus lunaticus Gilbert, 1890 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| riverine stargazerDactyloscopus amnis Miller & Briggs, 1962 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus boehlkei Dawson, 1982 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus comptus Dawson, 1982 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus elongatus Myers & Wade, 1946 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Paramyxodagnus mangaratibensis Carvalho & Pinto, 1965 Carvalho & Pinto, 1965 | synonym |
| Jopaica santosi (Carvalho & Pinto, 1965) (Carvalho & Pinto, 1965) | synonym |
| Paramyxodagnus moreirai Carvalho & Pinto, 1965 Carvalho & Pinto, 1965 | synonym |
| Springeria santosi Carvalho & Pinto, 1965 Carvalho & Pinto, 1965 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Starks, E. C. (1913). The fishes of the Stanford expedition to Brazil. Leland Stanford Jr. University Publications, University Series: 1–77, Pls. 1–15. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:33WQ4. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.