NL·0307Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Synchiropus splendidus
- Family
- Callionymidae
- Native to
- Western Pacific from the Ryukyu Islands to Australia
- Habitat
- Coral reef, Lagoons and coral rubble
Mandarinfish
Synchiropus splendidus
Also calledMandarin dragonet · Nishiki-teguri (Japanese) · Pez mandarín (Spanish) · Ikan mandarin (Indonesian)
A tiny, psychedelically patterned reef fish whose blue colour is one of only a few known cases of a true cellular blue pigment in vertebrates. Pairs rise together at dusk in a slow spawning dance.
Synchiropus splendidus, the mandarinfish or mandarin dragonet, is a small, brightly colored member of the dragonet family, which is popular in the saltwater aquarium trade. The mandarinfish is native to the Pacific, ranging approximately from the Ryukyu Islands south to Australia. It can usually be found in some of the warmer waters. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iBlue colouring comes from cellular pigment in 'cyanophores' rather than structural iridescence
- iiSkin is covered in foul-smelling, distasteful mucus instead of scales
- iiiCourting pairs rise up to a metre off the reef at dusk to release eggs
- ivFeeds by picking tiny copepods one at a time, up to thousands per day
In the field
Field marks
- aBright blue body with wavy orange, green and yellow bands
- bLarge, rounded head with prominent eyes
- cScaleless skin
- dMales larger with a long first dorsal spine
- Not to be confused with
- Spotted mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus) has green with black-ringed spots instead of wavy stripes.
- Where to see it
- Lembeh Strait and Alor (Indonesia), Malapascua and Anilao (Philippines), Palau, Sipadan
- When
- Year-round; best at dusk
Life & habits
- Diet
- Copepods, amphipods and other small crustaceans
- Habitat
- Shallow protected lagoons and inshore reefs with branching coral and rubble
- Size
- Up to about 6–7 cm
- Lifespan
- About 10–15 years in captivity
Several females gather near a dominant male at dusk; he pairs with each in turn, rising belly-to-belly to spawn.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Western Pacific from the Ryukyu Islands to Australia
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Synchiropus splendidus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
Its name refers to the brilliantly embroidered robes of Chinese imperial mandarins.
Curiosity
The mandarinfish's blue was described as one of only two known instances of cellular blue pigment in vertebrates, the other being its relative the psychedelic mandarin.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 56072.