• Norwegian: vanlig fløyfisk

Characteristics:

Both head and body is flattened. The head has a triangular shape when seen from above. Large eyes are positioned close together on the top of the head. The first of the two dorsal fins is large compared to the body size. It is sometimes raised like a sail to scare of intruders. The female is well camouflaged by its brown colors. Adult males are easily recognized by the blue lines on the head and back. The male is growing to 30 cm in length while females do not reach more than 20 cm.

Habitat:

The common dragonet is most frequent from the subtidal zone and down to 200 meters depth. It seems to prefer gravel, sand or muddy bottoms.

Distribution:

It can be found along the coasts of Europe, from southern Norway and Iceland to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It is also registered on the Azores.