We saw this fish on May 9th at "Tormentos" dive site off Cozumel in sand at about 45 feet. It was very white, in fact in some places on the head/body, there were pearly patches. Its pectoral fins did not seem to reach the sand, as though the body was too round on the bottom and so it rolled back and forth in the current. It seemed very awkward until with a few swift swishes of its tail it disappeared into the sand. The dive master would coax it out and the 2 inch Houdini performed its disappearing act again.
Anybody know what this guy is?
Pat and Jim Lommel
it is the sand stargazer
Dactyloscopus tridigitatus, the sand stargazer, common in sandy areas throughout the Caribbean.
Ben, coralreeffish.com