Synchiropus circularis is one of those “book fish” that we have admired in pictures and from a distance, never really expecting any fresh specimens to be documented by our colleagues. The circled dragonet is so rare, it doesn’t really have a common name, we just made that one up based on its formal latin name.
This freshly caught Synchiropus circularis was collected by divers from the California Academy of Sciences Steinhart Aquarium who are currently in the Philippines on a big expedition to collect and discover the exotic reef life of the region. The collection of Synchiropus circularis is a new record from the region, but the trip has just begun since the expedition team will only start their deep diving surveys today.
We have no doubt that this circled dragonet will be the first of many exciting discoveries by the CAS Steinhart Aquarium divers. Thankfully we’ve got several direct lines to the goings-on in the Steinhart Aquarium Philippines Expedition so stay tuned for many more announcements to come.
