Reef Fish
Mandarinfish
Synchiropus splendidus · Bony fish, family Callionymidae (dragonets)
Few reef events run on a schedule this exact. By day mandarinfish thread through coral rubble almost invisibly; in the last light they change program entirely. Males circle and spar, then pair with females, press cheek to cheek, and rise slowly half a meter or more above the rubble before releasing gametes in a shiver and darting back into cover. The ritual repeats at dusk essentially every evening of the year, which makes this one of the most dependable animal behaviors in diving. The fish itself is a thumb-length dragonet painted in orange scrawls over saturated blue, one of very few vertebrates known to produce blue color in dedicated pigment cells. Success is a patience game: settle early, shield your light, skip the strobe until pairs rise, and never chase.
在哪里、什么时候能见到
"常驻"表示在该目的地潜水时大多数情况下都能遇见它们；"季节性"表示在所列月份内可靠出现；其他任何情况都是意外惊喜，而非计划中的保障。
| 目的地 | 可靠性 | 月份 | 备注 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PalauPalau | Resident: seen on most dives | 全年皆宜 | |
| MalapascuaPhilippines | Resident: seen on most dives | 全年皆宜 | |
| AnilaoPhilippines | Resident: seen on most dives | 全年皆宜 | |
| Lembeh StraitIndonesia | Resident: seen on most dives | 全年皆宜 | |
| YapFederated States of Micronesia | Resident: seen on most dives | 全年皆宜 | |
| Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippines | Resident: seen on most dives | 全年皆宜 |
最佳月份一览
深入了解
栖息地: Sheltered lagoon and inshore rubble, especially broken branching-coral beds with deep hiding space.
分布范围: Western Pacific from the Ryukyu Islands through the Philippines, Indonesia, and Micronesia to Australia and New Caledonia.
习性: Cryptic by day, then a ritualized dusk courtship: males display and spar, pairs press flank to flank and rise above the rubble to spawn at last light, every evening of the year.
食性: Tiny benthic crustaceans, worms, and eggs picked continuously from the rubble.
体型: 通常约 0.05 m; 记录深度可达 0.07 m (total length; males noticeably larger than females).
与它相处时的行为守则
Arrive before sunset, settle on sand, and keep torches shielded or red-filtered; save the strobe for the spawning rise and never chase a pair back into the rubble.
保育
Locally pressured by aquarium collection in parts of the Philippines and Indonesia; dive-tourism value gives resident populations real protection at established sites.
以此著称的已标注潜点
高亮显示的潜点由编辑团队为该物种标注；数字为1990年以来潜点约5公里范围内的GBIF出现记录数。
观看
来自官方渠道
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
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