The Eastern Stargazer ( Kathetostoma laeve) is found in the waters of southern Australia. It can be found on the east coast from the Sydney region around the southern coast of Australia to the southern western waters of Western Australia. It is also found in the waters around Tasmania. It is an easily recognised species as it has a very large squarish head and its mouth and eyes point upwards. The colour of the Eastern stargazer is generally grey to brown on the top and white underneath. It prefers to live in inshore estuaries in areas that have sandy and silty bottoms.
During the day (and also the night) the Eastern Stargazer will remain buried in the sand without only it’s mouth showing. It uses this hidden position to ambush any prey that come to close. Divers will often only see the mouth in the sand and if a diver disturbs the sand from the Eastern Stargazer it will immediately try to bury itself again. The Eastern Stargazer has bitten divers, especially at night when they don’t realise what they have put their hands next to! The Eastern Stargazer grows to a maximum size of approximately 75cm.
