Morrison's dragonet

Morrison's dragonet (Synchiropus morrisoni) is a species of dragonet. It is native to the southwest Pacific Ocean from Japan to Australia ant eastwards to the Marshall Islands and Fiji.

Morrison's dragonet
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Syngnathiformes
Family:	Callionymidae
Genus:	Synchiropus
Species:	S. morrisoni
Binomial name
Synchiropus morrisoni L. P. Schultz, 1960
Synonyms
Neosynchiropus morrisoni (Schultz, 1960)

Etymology

The specific name honours J.P.E. Morrison (1906-1983), the U.S. malacologist who was curator of molluscs at United States National Museum and who spent the summers of 1947 and 1948 at Bikini Atoll.^[1]

Description

Morrison's dragonet is a small fish, with a maximum recorded size of about 7 cm (2.8 in). Soft dorsal rays branched. In males the first dorsal fin is much taller than the second, and in females it is shorter. Colour is a mottled red with variably sizes white spots and a dark brown blotch covering at least half of the base of the pectoral. In males, the first dorsal fin has narrow bars edged with light blue, and the lower head and front of the body has blue dots.^[2]

Distribution

Japan to Australia and eastwards to the Marshall Islands and Fiji.^[2]

Habitat

This species occurs on the algal covered rocks of the seaward sides of reefs; it is infrequent at depths shallower than 25 metres (82 ft) in most coral reef areas.^[3]