Common Name: Marble Dragonet

Distribution: Rare in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Pacific Ocean region: southern Japan to the Marquesan Islands. In Australia recorded from the North West Shelf of Western Australia, northern Queensland south to northern New South Wales.

Ecological Notes: Frequents sandy areas of lagoons and seaward reefs, sheltered rocky reef, rubble and algal turf habitats. Depth to 30 m.

Additional Notes: Brown with irregular whitish blotches and saddles, cryptic colouration and small size ensures sightings are rare. Feeds on small benthic invertebrates. Juvenile in lower photograph. Grows to 9 cm. 

References: John E. Randall, Gerald R. Allen, Roger C. Steene, Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, 2nd Edition, 1997. Published by Crawford House Publishing Pty Ltd. p.389.

Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=neosynchiropus+ocellatus. Accessed 09/06/18.

FishBase. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. World Wide Web electronic publication. https://fishbase.ca/summary/neosynchiropus-ocellatus.html. Accessed 09/06/18.