Baby Dragonet

Perhaps because there are lots of little nooks and crannies in which to hide, Lembeh Strait is home to a plethora of juvenile animals…like this baby fingered dragonet (Dactylopus dactylopus) I came across the other day:

fingered dragonet

The colouring of this fish matches the substrate so well that it’s difficult to tell that the fish is there, even when you’re staring directly at it!

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  • Michele

    Great shot, Tony! Thanks for sharing this and the others with all of us who are land-bound.

  • http://[email protected] Michele

    Great shot, Tony! Thanks for sharing this and the others with all of us who are land-bound.

  • http://www.bubblevision.com Nick Hope

    Hey Tony, nice shot. Wish I was there with you. I got some footage of a male/female pair of these juveniles at Aer Perang a couple of years ago. After a lot of digging I think they are actually orange and black dragonets, Synchiropus kuiteri, not the fingered dragonet. That’s how I’ve got mine classified, but I might be wrong.

  • http://www.bubblevision.com Nick Hope

    Hey Tony, nice shot. Wish I was there with you. I got some footage of a male/female pair of these juveniles at Aer Perang a couple of years ago. After a lot of digging I think they are actually orange and black dragonets, Synchiropus kuiteri, not the fingered dragonet. That’s how I’ve got mine classified, but I might be wrong.