The common dragonet (''Callionymus lyra'') is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

dragonet Dragonets are small, percomorph, marine fish of the diverse family Callionymidae (from the Greek ''kallis'', "beautiful" and ', "name") found mainly in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific. They are benthic organisms, spending most ...

which is widely distributed in the eastern North Atlantic where it is common near Europe from Norway and Iceland southwards. It is a demersal species that occurs over sand bottoms. It lives to a maximum age of around seven years. It is caught in bycatch by fisheries and is used in the aquarium trade.

Description

The common dragonet has a broad, triangular, flattened head with a long snout and protruding lower jaw, the body is also flattened, although the tail is rounded. The eyes are placed on the top head and the gills are alo on the upper part of the body. The preopercular bone is strongly hooked and has four robust spines, the front facing forwards and the other three face rearwards. The adults are

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

and the mature males have elongate rays in their

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s. The second dorsal fin is yellowish with bright blue longitudinal stripes and they have bright blue marks on the head and body. The females and immature males are brown, paler on the underside, with a series of 6 brown blotches along their flanks. There are three symmetrical brown saddle-like blotches along the back with indistinct darker longitudinal stripes on their second dorsal fin. The females are normally smaller than the males with an average total length of long and the larger males grow up to . Their colour and patterning mean that common dragonets are well camouflaged on coarse sand or gravel substrates. When the common dragonet is at rest on the seabed its fins are often folded. Callionymus lyra 02

Distribution

The common dragonet is found in inshore waters in the eastern North Atlantic from Iceland and Norway in the north through the western coasts of Europe to Mauritania, as well as the islands groups of the

Faroes The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway betw ...

, the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

and the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. It also occurs throughout the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

Habitat and biology

The common dragonet is a

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

species which is occurs from the

sublittoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal area ...

zone to depths of up to , although it is most frequently found between and . It is found in temperate waters with a water temperature of . It spends most of its time on the seabed partially buried in sand or shell gravel. When it is buried in the substrate only the head and eyes will protrude and the fish may emerge quickly to feed. They are opportunistic feeders which will prey on whichever suitable prey species are most abundant, Abstract it feeds mostly on small invertebrates, such as worms and crustaceans, for example in one study crustaceans were found to make up over 85% of the identifiable diet with the porcelain crab '' Pisidia longicornis'' making up 43%. Molluscs, especially cockles, are also preyed upon by common dragonets. Common dragonets are an important prey item of

Atlantic cod The Atlantic cod (''Gadus morhua'') is a benthopelagic fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as cod or codling.pouting in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

. Male common dragonets are territorial and they aggressively defend their territories from other males. Unlike many species of pelagic spawning fish the common dragonet spawns as a pair. They have quite an elaborate courtship in which the male approaches the female, spreading his pectoral fins and erecting both dorsal fins, displaying their colours, while simultaneously repeatedly raising his head and opening his mouth very wide. If the female responds to this display the male becomes more excited and eventually the pair swim, with the female resting on the pectoral fins of the male, vertically to the surface where the eggs and milt are released between their bodies to be fertilised. After fertilisation the eggs drift away in the current. The eggs,

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

and postlarvae of common dragonets are pelagic while the juveniles prefer the intertidal zone.

Human uses

This species is of minor importance to local

commercial fisheries Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

and can be found displayed in public

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q132895

common dragonet The common dragonet (''Callionymus lyra'') is a species of dragonet which is widely distributed in the eastern North Atlantic where it is common near Europe from Norway and Iceland southwards. It is a demersal species that occurs over sand bottom ...

Fish of Europe Fish of the East Atlantic Fish of the Mediterranean Sea Fish of the Black Sea Fish of the North Sea Marine fauna of North Africa