Here’s a fish without scales: the mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)!✨

Rather than scales, it has a thick coating of foul-smelling, bitter-tasting mucus. In combination with its bright colors, the malodorous mucus is thought to deter predators by signaling toxicity. The vibrant fish inhabits waters in the western Pacific, such as Indonesia and Australia, where it might be spotted “walking” along the seafloor with its pelvic fins.

Photo: François Libert, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0, flickr

#AnimalFacts #fish #oceanlife #dyk #nature #mandarinfish #colors
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