Stargazer

Because its eyes point straight up at the sky. The stargazer's skull is flattened and box-shaped, and the eyes are set on the very top of the head rather than the sides, so that when the fish is lying on the bottom, or buried in it, its gaze is directed vertically upward toward the surface — as if it were watching the stars. The large, nearly vertical mouth is arranged the same way. This whole layout is an adaptation for a specific hunting method — lying hidden in the sediment and looking up so it can see and lunge at anything that swims over it.

Some species are both, which is unusual. All stargazers have a pair of large, grooved venomous spines, one just behind each gill cover above the pectoral fin, connected to venom glands; a jab causes severe pain, swelling, and sometimes more general symptoms, and infections are common. In addition, the North American and some other stargazers (genera Astroscopus and Uranoscopus) have electric organs, unique among fish in being modified from eye muscles, located in a pouch behind each eye, capable of a discharge of roughly 50 volts. So a person who trod on the wrong species could in principle be both stung and shocked. The electricity is used mainly to stun small prey and to discourage predators.

By sit-and-wait ambush from below. The fish works itself backwards into loose sand or mud using its broad pectoral fins until it is almost completely covered, leaving only the upward-facing eyes, the nostrils, and a fringed upper lip at the surface of the seabed. It then stays motionless, sometimes for hours. When a small fish or crab passes overhead, the stargazer explodes upward, opening its enormous mouth to create a sudden suction that pulls the prey in, and drops back into its hiding spot. Some species enhance this by protruding a thin, worm-shaped flap from the floor of the mouth and twitching it as a lure to bring curious fish within range. The venom and, where present, the electric shock are for defence and for subduing prey, not for the initial capture.

Yes, in a number of regions. Despite the ugly face, the flesh is white, firm, and considered good eating, and stargazers are sold in fish markets around the Mediterranean, in Japan, in parts of Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, sometimes under other names. Fishmongers typically cut away the head, which carries both the venomous spines and, in electric species, the electric organs, before sale. Recreational anglers occasionally catch them from sandy beaches and jetties. The main safety issue is for people wading or handling nets and catches on sandy bottoms where stargazers bury themselves, since an unseen buried fish is easy to step on or grab by mistake.