The delicate dragonet, scientifically known as Callionymus delicatulus, is a small, tropical marine fish commonly found in the waters of the Indo-West Pacific, ranging from the 🌊 Red Sea to the 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands, including areas like Palau in 🇫🇲 Micronesia. It typically inhabits sandy to muddy bottoms in lagoon reefs, thriving in shallow sand areas at depths of 1 to 28 meters (approximately 3 to 92 feet), although it is most commonly found between 1 and 20 meters (about 3 to 65 feet).
This species can reach a maximum length of 6.7 centimeters (about 2.6 inches). Male delicate dragonets are distinguishable by a row of dark spots along their sides, which are framed by brown coloration. The dorsal fin of the fish features four spines and eight soft rays, while the anal fin has seven soft rays without any spines.
The name Callionymus is derived from Greek, where "kallion" means "more beautiful" and "onyma" means "name," implying the fish has a particularly attractive designation.
Why it's threatened
There are no known major threats.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
