A bony-headed fish that walks over sand on stiff finger-like rays, dragging a pair of folded fans behind it. Spread, those pectoral fins are enormous, translucent and spotted with electric blue - and they open only when the animal is alarmed.
The wings are a bluff. This fish cannot fly and does not glide; the display doubles its apparent size in a second and is aimed at whatever is following it. If that fails it swims off in a short burst and settles again.
Walking is done with the first few pectoral rays, which are separate from the fan and thick enough to bear weight. The fish uses them to shuffle and to rake sediment for crabs, small fish and molluscs, and the armored head takes the rest of the work.
Juveniles look nothing like the adults and drift in open water, which is why the two were once described separately. On a night dive over sand, a gurnard that opens its wings in a torch beam is one of the better things this sea offers.
The genus. Dactyloptena Jordan & Richardson 1908 - daktylos (finger) + ptenos (winged). ETYFish
The species. Dactyloptena orientalis (Cuvier 1829) - eastern. ETYFish
- enormous fan-like pectoral fins, spotted blue, spread when alarmed
- armored bony head with a spine pointing back from each cheek
- walks over sand on short separated fin rays under the body
- length up to 40 cm
Why it's threatened
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
