The ocellated dragonet or scooter dragonet (''Neosynchiropus ocellatus'') is a species of tropical marine fish in the family
Callionymidae
Dragonets are small percomorph marine fish of the diverse family Callionymidae (from the Greek ''kallis'', "beautiful" and ', "name") found mainly in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific. They are benthic organisms, spending most of ...
. It is native to the southwest
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
from southern
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
to the
Marquesan Islands
The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific O ...
.
Name
The scooter dragonet is often referred to as the ocellated dragonet and, in the aquarium trade, as the scooter blenny. This often causes confusion because many then believe that the species is a member of the
blenny family when it is actually not. The same species is also occasionally listed under the scientific name ''Neosynchiropus ocellatus'', and many mistakenly believe they are separate species.
Description
The scooter dragonet grows to approximately long. Viewed from above, it is distinctly diamond-shaped with the horizontal pectoral fins located at its widest point. It is brown and tan with a striped or spotted pattern- males are usually more colorful and have a large sail-like dorsal fin that is bright orange at the base.
Habitat
The scooter dragonet is a reef-associated bottom dwelling fish that inhabits shallow, tropical waters, usually sandy lagoons or rocky reefs. They tend to form loose congregations of several individuals, but do not exhibit schooling behavior or other forms of social cooperation. Scooter dragonets' diet consists almost entirely of
Copepods
Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthic (living on the sediments), several species have ...
: small
zooplankton
Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...
living in the water column. However, in captivity the Scooter Dragonet can often be acclimated to consuming live, frozen or even artificial foods, such as flakes.
References
*
External links
Fishes of Australia : ''Neosynchiropus ocellatus''*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2471073
ocellated dragonet
Fish described in 1770