30×22 watercolor
Dragonets, such as these mandarin fish, are wildly, vividly patterned with colorful stripes and spots when seen up close. These extremely beautiful little fish are found in warm, tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region of the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. There are two different species in this painting. Synchiropus splendidus is the one with wavy blue and orange stripes, while Synchiropus picturatus has the bull’s eye spots. They are both quite small – under 3 inches (about 7 cm) in length. These two species are quite spectacular, and have inspired numerous common names. The stripey Synchiropus splendidus may be known as Mandarin Fish, Mandarin Dragonet, Mandarin Goby (although it isn’t a goby at all), Striped Mandarinfish, Green Mandarinfish and even Psychedelic Fish. The spotted Synchiropus picturatus is known as Picturesque Dragonet, Spotted Mandarin, Target Mandarin as well as Psychedelic Mandarin. What charmers!