Astrapogon stellatus

A. stellatus is native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Its range extends from Florida, Bermuda and the Bahamas to the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and Brazil, as far south as Rio de Janeiro. It typically inhabits reefs and clear shallow waters to a depth of about 40 m (130 ft).^[1][5]

A. stellatus is a cryptic, nocturnal species, and feeds on plankton in the open sea. Usually a solitary fish, a pair bond is formed at breeding time. The male is a mouth-brooder, retaining the eggs in his mouth until they hatch, but otherwise, very little is known about the fish's biology.^[6]

A. stellatus has a commensal relationship with the queen conch (Aliger gigas), living by day within the mollusc's mantle cavity, and emerging at night to forage. The queen conch is becoming increasingly rare because of over-fishing, and the conchfish has been reported using the rigid pen shell (Atrina rigida) as an alternative refuge.^[3] Also amber pen shell (Pinna carnea) is sometimes used.^[1] Other members of the family take refuge in corals, sponges and rock crevices.^[6]