The second Dactylopus: a tall flag of a first dorsal fin with an eyespot at its base.
To about 15 cm. It shares with the fingered dragonet Dactylopus dactylopus the character that defines the genus: the first ray of each pelvic fin is detached and finger-like, and the fish uses the pair as legs, walking over the bottom rather than swimming. The two are told apart on the first dorsal fin. Here it is tall, dark and flag-like with a distinct ocellus at its base, and the head and forebody carry orange over dark brown to black, with yellow and blue on the tail. D. dactylopus is a sandy grey-brown fish with a lower and much paler first dorsal. Juveniles of this species are darker overall and more strongly orange than adults.
Sheltered coastal sand and mud from about 2 to 40 m, singly or in pairs, working slowly across open sediment and picking small crustaceans and worms off it. The recorded range runs from Bali east through Indonesia to the Philippines, which is narrower than the fingered dragonet’s, and where the two overlap they are found on the same ground. The dorsal fin is raised in display and in threat and is folded flat most of the time, so a fish that has been followed quietly for a few minutes is more likely to show the character than one just found.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.
