Mandarin Mania!
The dragonets comprise a relatively large family of fishes that spend most of their time on the sea floor. These fishes have a large spine on the preopercle (the "cheek" area before the gill cover) with small barbs on the edges. The dragonets also lack scales, they have a triangular head, an elongate body, and a small mouth with a protrusible upper jaw. The gill opening consists of a small opening on the rear of the head. Most of the dragonets have two dorsal fins. The pectoral fins are fan-like and are important in locomotion. In some species (e.g., the mandarins) the edges of the pectoral fins are undulated, which enables them to hover in the water column. Most of the dragonets are "chromatically challenged", sporting earth tone colors that help them blend in with the substrate. However, some of the most ornately colored fishes in the ocean also occur in this family. In this CoralRealm article we will take a close look at two species of these more ornate dragonets, which are commonly known as mandarin fishes.
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Fish Lab - Ecology - The Mandarin Fishes
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