Synchiropus splendidus

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Synchiropus splendidus
Synchiropus splendidus 2 Luc Viatour cropped.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Callionymiformes
Family: Callionymidae
Genus: Synchiropus
Species:
S. splendidus
Binomial name
Synchiropus splendidus
(Herre, 1927)
Synonyms
  • Callionymus splendidusHerre, 1927
  • Neosynchiropus splendidus(Herre, 1927)
  • Pterosynchiropus splendidus(Herre, 1927)

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.

Taxonomy and etymology

The mandarinfish was first described as Callionymus splendidus in 1927 by Albert William Herre, an American ichthyologist working in the Philippines. [1] It was later placed in genus Synchiropus. The generic name Synchiropus is from Ancient Greek syn- , meaning "together", and -chiropus meaning "hand-foot". [2] The specific epithet splendidus is from the Latin for 'bright' or 'glittering.' [3] The common name of the mandarinfish comes from its extremely vivid colouration, evoking the robes of an Imperial Chinese mandarin. [4] Other common names include mandarin goby, green mandarin, striped mandarinfish, striped dragonet, green dragonet and sometimes psychedelic mandarinfish. [5] [6] [7] The similarly named mandarin fish ( Siniperca chuatsi ), properly known as the Chinese perch, is distantly related.

The mandarinfish belongs to the perciform family Callionymidae, the dragonets, which counts 10 genera and more than 182 species. Genus Synchiropus counts 51 species, divided into 10 subgenera. The mandarinfish is in subgenus Synchiropus (Pterosynchiropus) along with the S. occidentalis and S. picturatus. [8]

Description

Green mandarin in a reef aquarium Synchiropus splendidus.jpg
Green mandarin in a reef aquarium
The mandarinfish viewed from the front Synchiropus splendidus 1 Luc Viatour.jpg
The mandarinfish viewed from the front

S. splendidus is one of only two vertebrate species known to have blue colouring because of cellular pigment, the other being the closely related psychedelic mandarin (S. picturatus). The name "cyanophore" was proposed for the blue chromatophores, or pigment-containing and light-reflecting cells. In all other known cases, the colour blue is structural, as it comes from thin-film interference from piles of flat, thin and reflecting purine crystals. [9] The mandarinfish has a body shape similar to a goby, though this is the only resemblance between the two. The vivid coloration sports a bright blue background, with swirly orange stripes and a blue-greenish face with bold blue stripes. The large pelvic fins are used for 'walking' on the seafloor and are often mistakenly seen as the pectoral fins. The real pectorals are located almost at the center and are nearly transparent, with a tinge of fin, the anal fins and on part of the tail, the rest of which is striped in vibrant orange and blue. The dorsal fin, which is exceptionally tall in males, has a striking orange-and blue design as well. The eyes are usually red with black pupils. Different varieties sport different markings and colors. The green mandarin is the fish that has been described. The red mandarin is the same species, but its pelvic fins and what would be orange is red. In some rare cases, the entire dragonet is red with black stripes. The spotted mandarin is light gray-green with black, pink and blue spots.

Mandarinfish are reef dwellers, preferring sheltered lagoons and inshore reefs. While they are slow-moving and fairly common within their range, they are not easily seen due to their bottom-feeding habit and their small size (reaching only about 6 cm). They feed primarily on small crustaceans and other invertebrates.

Diet

Based on the gut analyses of seven wild fish Sadovy et al. (2001) determined that the mandarinfish has a mixed diet that consists of harpacticoid copepods, polychaete worms, small gastropods, gammaridean amphipods, fish eggs and ostracods. In the wild, feeding is continuous during daytime; the fish peck selectively at small prey trapped on coral substrate in a home range of many square meters. [10]

Relationship to humans

Despite their popularity in the aquarium trade, mandarinfish are considered difficult to keep, as their feeding habits are very specific. Some fish never adapt to aquarium life, refusing to eat anything but live amphipods and copepods (as in the wild); though individuals that do acclimatize to aquarium food are considered to be quite hardy and highly resistant to diseases such as marine ich. They are less likely to contract marine ich because they do not have the typical skin type that is affected by this disease. Mandarinfish also have a layer of debatably smelly and bitter slime instead of scales, which blocks out disease and probably also discourages predators, implying their bright coloration is aposematic. [11]

The mandarinfish appeared on a 39-kip postage stamp from Laos issued in 1987, and a 40-cent postage stamp of the Federated States of Micronesia issued on 26 August 1993. [12] [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragonet</span> Family of fishes

Dragonets are small, percomorph, marine fish of the diverse family Callionymidae found mainly in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific. They are benthic organisms, spending most of their time near the sandy bottoms, at a depth of roughly two hundred meters. There exist 139 species of the fish, in nineteen genera.

Mandarinfish or mandarin fish may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon wrasse</span> Species of fish

The moon wrasse also known as the crescent wrasse or lyretail wrasse, is a species of wrasse native to the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. It is an inhabitant of coral reefs and surrounding areas at depths from 1 to 20 m. Moon wrasses are carnivorous and tend to prey on fish eggs and small sea-floor dwelling invertebrates. This species can reach 45 cm (18 in) in total length. It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries and can also be found in the aquarium trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical striped triplefin</span> Species of fish

The tropical striped triplefin, also called the striped threefin or neon triplefin, is a species of triplefin blenny that is native to the central Indo-Pacific.

Algae eater or algivore is a common name for any bottom-dwelling or filter-feeding aquatic animal species that specialize in feeding on algae and phytoplanktons. Algae eaters are important for the fishkeeping hobby and many are commonly kept by aquarium hobbyists to improve water quality. They are also important primary consumers that relay the biomass and energy from photosynthetic autotrophes up into the food web, as well as protecting the aquatic ecosystem against algae blooms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugium (fishkeeping)</span>

In fishkeeping, a refugium is an appendage to a marine, brackish, or freshwater fish tank that shares the same water supply. It is a separate sump, connected to the main show tank. It is a "refugium" in the sense that it permits organisms to be maintained that would not survive in the main system, whether food animals, anaerobic denitrifying bacteria, or photosynthesizers. For some applications water flow is limited in order to protect plants or animals that require slow flow. The refugium light cycle can be operated opposite to the main tank, in order to keep total system pH more stable (due to the uptake of acid-forming CO2 by photosynthesis occurring in the refugium during its "daylight" hours). One volume guideline for a refugium is 1:10 main tank volume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schooling bannerfish</span> Species of fish

The schooling bannerfish, also known as the false moorish idol, is a marine ray-finned fish, a butterflyfish from the family Chaetodontidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific area.

<i>Chrysiptera parasema</i> Species of fish

Chrysiptera parasema, also known as yellowtail damselfish, yellowtail blue damsel, goldtail demoiselle and other variations, is a saltwater species of fish from the Indo-Pacific. It was described by Henry Weed Fowler in 1918.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocellated dragonet</span> Species of fish

The ocellated dragonet or scooter dragonet is a species of tropical marine fish in the family Callionymidae. It is native to the southwest Pacific Ocean from southern Japan to the Marquesan Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Picturesque dragonet</span> Species of fish

The picturesque dragonet is a brightly colored member of the dragonet family native to the Indo-West Pacific: Philippines, eastern Indonesia and northwest Australia. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade, where it is commonly known as the spotted mandarin, psychedelic mandarin or target mandarin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlequin tuskfish</span> Species of fish

The harlequin tuskfish, Choerodon fasciatus, is a species of wrasse native to the western Pacific Ocean. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common dragonet</span> Species of fish

The common dragonet is a species of dragonet which is widely distributed in the eastern North Atlantic where it is common near Europe from Norway and Iceland southwards. It is a demersal species that occurs over sand bottoms. It lives to a maximum age of around seven years. It is caught in bycatch by fisheries and is used in the aquarium trade.

The spotted dragonet is a species of dragonet native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea where it occurs at depths of from 45 to 650 metres. This species is important to local peoples engaged in subsistence fishing.

<i>Synchiropus</i> Genus of fishes

Synchiropus is a genus of fish in the family Callionymidae found mainly in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region.

<i>Halichoeres prosopeion</i> Species of fish

Halichoeres prosopeion, commonly called the twotone wrasse, half-grey wrasse or zig-zag wrasse, is a fish species in the wrasse family native to the western Pacific Ocean.

<i>Halichoeres richmondi</i> Species of fish

Halichoeres richmondi, commonly called the Richmond's wrasse or chain-lined wrasse, is a fish species in the wrasse family native from the central Indo-Pacific.

<i>Synchiropus phaeton</i> Species of fish

Synchiropus phaeton or the Phaeton dragonet is a species of bony fish of the family Callionymidae, the dragonets. It can be found in the Mediterranean and in the eastern Atlantic.

References

  1. Pietsch, T. W.; Anderson, W. D. Jr., eds. (1997). "Albert William Christian Theodore Herre (1868-1962): A brief autobiography and a bibliography of his ichthyological and fishery science publications, with a foreword by George S. Myers (1905-1985); Collection Building in Ichthyology and Herpetology". American Society of Ichthyology and Herpetology, Special Publications. 3: 351–366.
  2. Humphreys, W. F.; W. A. Shear (1993). "Troglobitic Millipedes (Diplopoda, Paradoxosomatidae) from semi-arid Cape Range, Western Australia: systematics and biology". Invertebrate Taxonomy. 7 (1): 173–195. doi:10.1071/IT9930173.
  3. Perseus & Tufts: Latin Word Study Tool Lewis & Short (1879)
  4. Mills, Dick (December 1, 2004). The marine aquarium: comprehensive coverage, from setting up an aquarium to choosing the best fishes. Mini Encyclopedia. Barron's Educational Series. p. 200. ISBN   0-7641-2987-2.
  5. Crow, Richard; Alice Burkhart; Dave Keeley (2002). Pocket Guide to the Care and Maintenance of Aquarium Fish. PRC Publishing. p. 247. ISBN   1-85648-632-X . Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  6. Hauter, Stan; Debbie Hauter. "Striped Mandarinfish Profile". Saltwater Aquariums. About.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2009. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  7. Avila, Marcos A. "Synchiropus picturatus". Saltwater Fish. Age of Aquariums. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  8. Fricke, R. (2002). "Annotated Checklist of the Dragonet Families Callionymidae and Draconettidae (Teleostei: Callionymoidei), with Comments on Callionymid Fish Classification" (PDF). Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde Serie A (Biologie). 645: 1–103. Retrieved 2009-09-08.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. Goda, M.; R. Fujii (2009). "Blue Chromatophores in Two Species of Callionymid Fish". Zoological Science. 12 (6): 811–813. doi: 10.2108/zsj.12.811 .
  10. Sadovy, Yvonne; George Mitcheson; Maria B. Rasotto (December 2001). "Early Development of the Mandarinfish, Synchiropus splendidus (Callionymidae), with notes on its Fishery and Potential for Culture". Aquarium Sciences and Conservation. 3 (4). Springer Netherlands: 253–263. doi:10.1023/A:1013168029479.
  11. Sadovy, Y.; Randall, J. E.; Rasotto, Maria B. (May 2005). "Skin structure in six dragonet species (Gobiesociformes; Callionymidae): Interspecific differences in glandular cell types and mucus secretion". Journal of Fish Biology. 66 (5): 1411–1418. doi:10.1111/j.0022-1112.2005.00692.x.
  12. "Mandarinfish". Stamp Collectors Catalogue. Stamp Collectors Catalogue. Retrieved 8 September 2009.
  13. "Micronesia: 40c Fish – Mandarinfish". Stamp Supply Selections. Seaside Book & Stamp. 2 November 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2009.[ permanent dead link ]