Mandarinfish
Synchiropus splendidus (Herre, 1927)
The mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) is a bony fish in the family Callionymidae, part of the order Callionymiformes and the class Teleostei. Its scientific name carries the authority (Herre, 1927), and it belongs to the genus Synchiropus.
Quick facts about the mandarinfish
Other English names for the species are Mandarin-fish, Green mandarin, Mandarin dragonet and Splendid mandarinfish. The IUCN Red List assesses the mandarinfish globally as Least Concern, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 6 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- coral_reefsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the mandarinfish
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the mandarinfish live?
Not recorded
What is the mandarinfish?
Synchiropus splendidus, the mandarinfish or mandarin dragonet, is a small, brightly colored member of the dragonet family, which is popular in the saltwater aquarium trade. The mandarinfish is native to the Pacific, ranging approximately from the Ryukyu Islands south to Australia. It can usually be found in some of the warmer waters.
From the Wikipedia article “Synchiropus splendidus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Synchiropus_splendidus&oldid=1332577860), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mandarinfish endangered?
The mandarinfish is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the mandarinfish classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderCallionymiformes
- familyCallionymidae
- genusSynchiropus
- SpeciesSynchiropus splendidus (Herre, 1927)
Synonyms Callionymus splendidus, Neosynchiropus splendidus, Pterosynchiropus splendidus
Other names and names in other languages (55)
- Green mandarinEnglish
- Mandarin dragonetEnglish
- Mandarin-fishEnglish
- Splendid mandarinfishEnglish
- سمك ماندارينArabic
- pexe mandarínAsturian
- MandarinkaAzerbaijani
- Риба мандаринBulgarian
- peix mandaríCatalan
- BunogCebuano
- vřeténka mandarínCzech
- MandarinfiskDanish
- MandarinfischGerman
- Mandarin-LeierfischGerman
- Mandarena fiŝoEsperanto
- Pez Mandarín DragónSpanish
- Kaunis mandariinkalaEstonian
- Mandariin-paabulüürakalaEstonian
- ماهی ماندارینPersian
- MandariinikalaFinnish
- Poisson mandarinFrench
- Peixe mandarínGalician
- מנדריןHebrew
- Mandarinska ribaCroatian
- MandarinhalHungarian
- ՄանդարինկաArmenian
- Ikan mandarinIndonesian
- Pesce mandarinoItalian
- Pesce mandarino splendidoItalian
- ニシキテグリJapanese
- Nishiki-teguriJapanese
- 만다린피시Korean
- МандаринбалыкKyrgyz
- MandarinfëschLuxembourgish
- BebajiMalay
- Bebaji batikMalay
- Blauwe mandarijnpitvisDutch
- Mandaryn wspaniałyPolish
- مینڈارن مچھیWestern Panjabi
- Mandarim-realPortuguese
- Peixe-mandarimPortuguese
- ปลาแมนดารินThai
- ปลามังกรน้อยแมนดารินThai
- Mandalina balığıTurkish
- МандаринкаUkrainian
- Cá trạng nguyênVietnamese
- TalangkaWaray
- Nangka-tangkaWaray
- 狗圻Chinese
- 老鼠Chinese
- 花斑翼連鰭Chinese
- 花斑連鰭䲗Chinese
- 花斑連鰭Chinese
- 青蛙Chinese
- Masey mandalinaZaza
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the mandarinfish
Other species in the same genus Synchiropus.
LSD-dragonet
Synchiropus picturatus
Starry dragonet
Synchiropus stellatus
Morrison's dragonet
Synchiropus morrisoni
Phaeton dragonet
Synchiropus phaeton
Red dragonet
Synchiropus altivelis
CompareMandarinfish vs LSD-dragonetMandarinfish vs Starry dragonetMandarinfish vs Morrison's dragonetMandarinfish vs Phaeton dragonet
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the mandarinfish?
The mandarinfish is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Callionymidae in the order Callionymiformes.
What is the scientific name of the mandarinfish?
The scientific name of the mandarinfish is Synchiropus splendidus, placed in the genus Synchiropus.
Who named the mandarinfish and when?
The authority for Synchiropus splendidus is written as (Herre, 1927).
Is the mandarinfish endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses the mandarinfish globally as Least Concern, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
What other names does the mandarinfish have?
The mandarinfish is also called Mandarin-fish, Green mandarin, Mandarin dragonet and Splendid mandarinfish.
What family does the mandarinfish belong to?
The mandarinfish belongs to the family Callionymidae, within the class Teleostei.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandarinfish
“Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandarinfish.
@misc{mandarinfish_2026,
title = {Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mandarinfish},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}