2004 Pontiac Grand Prix Dead Temperature Guage

When I start my car, the gauges cycle through their normal boot sequence and settle to their readings, except now the temp gauge drops dead.
I open the hood and the fans are running. They normally only come on after running hard and then stopping to an idle. I normally watch the temp gauge rise a line or two before the fans come on.

When this happened, the outside temp was about 85 degrees and I was running the a/c.

The car showed no other signs of adverse running.

Could this be a failed temp sending unit? If so, where is it and how much $ are they?