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| fishes text index | photo index |
| Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrate > fishes |
| Dragonets Family Callionymidae updated Feb 11
Where seen? Divers are more familiar with colourful dragonets seen on the reefs. But different kinds are also seen on the intertidal on sandy areas and coral rubble. The Smallhead dragonet (Callionymus erythraeus) is sometimes seen on our Northern shores, near seagrass areas. While the Mosaic dragonets (Callionymus enneactis) are sometimes seen near living reefs on some of our shores. The flamboyant Fingered dragonet (Dactylopus dactylopus) is sometimes seen on our reefs. What are dragonets? Dragonets belong to Family Callionymidae. According to FishBase: the family has 18 genera and 130 species. They are found mainly in the Indo-West Pacific. Features: To about 10cm, those seen about 3-5cm. These fishes are bottom-dwellers. Instead of scales, the body is covered in a tough skin and usually coated with mucous that has a bad taste and smell. So they are sometimes also called stinkfishes. The gill opening is just a small hole, usually on the upper side of the head, with a strong spine near it. These small fishes are bottom dwellers and generally found on sand or mud near reefs. When resting, most are buried in the sand. Most of these fishes are well camouflaged but some species can be quite colourful. In many species the males and females appear different. The males usually have an enlarged first dorsal fin that is colourful with intricate patterns. What do they eat? They pick off small animals from the surface with their pointed, downward facing mouth. Human uses: Some colourful species (Synchiropus sp.) are popular in the live aquarium trade. Unfortunately, they do poorly in captivity as they are difficult to feed since they only eat tiny animals. Status and threats: Our dragonets are not listed among the threatened animals of Singapore. However, like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. |
 Buried in the sand. Changi, Apr 07  Downward pointing mouth. Changi, May 05  Underside of a dead one. Changi, Oct 09 |
Bottom-dwellers that are hard to spot. Watch your step!
Lacking scales, they have protective mucous that smells
and tastes bad. So they are sometimes called stinkfishes.Dragonets on Singapore shores
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| Family
Callionymidae recorded for Singapore from Ng, H. H., 2012. The dragonets of Singapore (Actinopterygii: Perciformes: Callionymidae).
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Links
References
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Periplus Editions. 292 pp.|
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