SAND STARGAZERS - DACTYLOSCOPIDAE
General:
Mouth strongly oblique. Usually with fringes on lips. Upper margin of operculum with fingerlike subdivisions. Eyes dorsally placed and somewhat protrusible; with or without an eye stalk.
Pelvic fin jugular, with 1 spine and 3 soft rays. Dorsal fin long, continuous or divided; 7-23 spines, 12-36 soft rays. Anal fin 21-41 soft rays. Lateral line 33-73 scales. Body scales cycloid. Vertebrae 10-13 abdominal, 23-42 caudal.
Maximum length about 15 cm. Frequently burrow in sand.
Pumps water with a branchiostegal instead of an opercular pump
Etymology
Greek, daktylos = finger + Greek, skopein = to watch