It stings, it shocks, it has polka dots. ‘Incredible’ creature found on Texas beach
_fitted.png "A strange looking fish was recently spotted on a Texas beach, but you might not want to touch it, experts say.")
A strange and “incredible” sea creature recently washed up on a Texas beach — and you don’t want to get too close, experts say.
“This beautiful fish … has a face that only a mother could love,” the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi said in an Oct. 20 Facebook post, sharing a photo of the polka-dotted creature.
Researchers with the institute came across the fish, a southern stargazer, while combing a beach.
Though its name might imply it’s a delicate or sensitive fellow, the southern stargazer is more like a booby-trap with fins.
The stargazer “can shock you with glands behind the eyes and it has venomous spines,” the institute said. “Incredible fish that feeds by ambushing its prey.”
“And to think he had me feeling sorry for him!” a commenter said.
While they can’t be seen in the photo shared by the institute, stargazers have two venomous spines, one on each side of its body, tucked behind the ears and above the fins, according to Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine.
When threatened, the southern stargazer can deliver an electric jolt of 50 volts, the magazine reported. It tends to use this defensively against potential predators and not when hunting prey.
The species is known to grow up to nearly 2 feet long and can be found in the western Atlantic Ocean, with their territory spanning from the northern tip of South America up to North Carolina, according to the University of Florida.
A stargazer will spend most of its life on the ocean floor, burying itself in sand, lying in wait for prey to swim by, according to the university. Their eyes can protrude from their head like a pair of periscopes, allowing them to get a better look around while remaining hidden.
Despite the risks of being stung or shocked, stargazers are sometimes eaten and “apparently they taste like lobster,” the institute said.
“Wouldn’t want to think of that face when consuming! Or the poison! Or those glands!” a commenter said.
This story was originally published October 24, 2023 at 1:12 PM with the headline "It stings, it shocks, it has polka dots. ‘Incredible’ creature found on Texas beach."