Mandarinfish
Synchiropus splendidus
Common Dragonet
Callionymus lyra
About
The common dragonet is a small bottom-dwelling fish that lies almost buried in sand, with only its eyes and head showing, until prey wanders close.
How to tell it apart
It can be confused with other dragonet species sharing the same sandy seabeds. The male's tall, blue-striped second dorsal fin, held up like a small sail, is the mark other dragonets in these waters do not share.
Appearance
It has a broad, flat, triangular head with a long snout and a jaw that sticks out slightly, and eyes set on top of the head. The body is flattened too, though the tail is rounded. Males and females look quite different: mature males have long trailing rays on their dorsal and tail fins, a yellowish second dorsal fin with bright blue stripes, and bright blue marks on the head and body. Females and young males are plainer brown, paler underneath, with a row of brown blotches along the side and three saddle-like blotches along the back.
Habitat
It lives on sand and gravel seabeds close to shore in the eastern North Atlantic, from Norway and Iceland south along Europe's coasts, and also through the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It spends most of its time partly buried in the sand, with just its head and eyes poking out.
Did you know?
During courtship the male raises both dorsal fins and spreads his pectoral fins while repeatedly opening his mouth wide, then the pair rise together through the water, resting the female on his fins, to release eggs and milt side by side.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
