moonstruck stargazer
Dactyloscopus lunaticus Gilbert, 1890
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 lunaticus, the moonstruck stargazer, is a species of sand stargazer native to the Pacific coast of Central America from southern Baja California to the Gulf of Panama where it can be found at depths down to 60 metres (200 ft).
Wikipedia contributors, Dactyloscopus lunaticus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:47:07.132323+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dactyloscopus lunaticus Gilbert, 1890
- Name authority
- Gilbert, 1890
- Common name
- moonstruck 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 lunaticus Gilbert, 1890
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 |
| 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 |
| bigeye stargazerDactyloscopus crossotus Starks, 1913 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dactyloscopus elongatus Myers & Wade, 1946 | DactyloscopidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Gilbert, C. H. (1890). A preliminary report on the fishes collected by the steamer Albatross on the Pacific coast of North America during the year 1889, with descriptions of twelve new genera and ninety-two new species. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, v. 13 (no. 797): 49–126. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.13-797.49 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:6BZQ2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.