Dragonet
Overview
Dragonets are small, perciform, marine fish
of the diverse family Callionymidae (from the Greek
kallis, "beautiful" and onyma, "name"). Found mainly in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific
, the family contains approximately 186 species in 18 genera. The Draconettidae
may be considered a sister family, whose members are very much alike, though rarely seen. Due to similarities in morphology and behaviour, dragonets are sometimes confused with members of the goby
family.
These "little dragon
s" are generally highly colourful with cryptic patterns.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
of the diverse family Callionymidae (from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
kallis, "beautiful" and onyma, "name"). Found mainly in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region of the Earth's seas, comprising the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the seas connecting the two in the general area of Indonesia...
, the family contains approximately 186 species in 18 genera. The Draconettidae
Draconettidae
Draconettidae, the slope dragonets, is a small family of fish in the order Perciformes. They are found in temperate to tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans. They are closely related to, and appear similar to, the fish of the Callionymidae. They are small fish, the...
may be considered a sister family, whose members are very much alike, though rarely seen. Due to similarities in morphology and behaviour, dragonets are sometimes confused with members of the goby
Goby
The gobies form the family Gobiidae, which is one of the largest families of fish, with more than 2,000 species in more than 200 genera. Most are relatively small, typically less than 10 cm in length...
family.
These "little dragon
European dragon
European dragons are legendary creatures in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe.In European folklore, a dragon is a serpentine legendary creature. The Latin word draco, as in constellation Draco, comes directly from Greek δράκων,...
s" are generally highly colourful with cryptic patterns.
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