Mandarin Fish

Synchiropus splendidus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Callionymiformes
Family: Callionymidae
Genus: Synchiropus
Species: Synchiropus splendidus

The mandarin fish (Synchiropus splendidus) is one of the most colourful fish in the sea, a small dragonet patterned in swirling blue, orange and green. Its skin lacks scales and is covered in a foul-tasting, protective mucus.

It grows to about 6-7 cm and lives among rubble and branching corals in sheltered lagoons. Shy by day, mandarin fish become active at dusk, when pairs rise together above the coral in a brief mating dance and release their eggs into the water.

The mandarin fish is found in the western Pacific, including the Philippines, where sunset dives on rubble and staghorn coral patches offer the best chance to watch their courtship.

Photo: Jim Moore (Maryland), CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist