Lancer dragonet

The lancer dragonet (Callionymus bairdi), Baird's dragonet, coral dragonet or St Helena dragonet, is a species of dragonet native to the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean where it occurs at depths of from 1 to 91 metres (3.3 to 298.6 ft). In the western Atlantic it occurs from Cape Hatteras southwards along the east coast of North America. including Bermuda and the Bahamas, into the Gulf of Mexico and throughout the Caribbean Sea. It has also been recorded from Ilha da Trindade off Brazil. In the eastern Atlantic it has been recorded from the Cape Verde Islands, Ascension Island, St. Helena, and Sao Tome e Principe in the Gulf of Guinea.[1] This species grows to a length of 11.4 centimetres (4.5 in) TL.[2]

Lancer dragonet
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Callionymiformes
Family:	Callionymidae
Genus:	Callionymus
Species:	C. bairdi
Binomial name
Callionymus bairdi Jordan, 1888
Synonyms
Callionymus sanctaehelenae Fricke, 1983 Callionymus boekeri Metzelaar, 1919 Callionymus sanctieustatii Metzelaar, 1919 Paradiplogrammus bairdi (Jordan, 1888)

Callionymus bairdi is found over sandy bottoms but also over substrates of rocky-rubble. It occurs in shallow reefs as well as in beds of Thalassia testudinum. It is a sexually dimorphic species. The juveniles occur shallower than 15m.[1]

The specific name honours the U.S. ornithologist and ichthyologist Spencer Fullerton Baird (1823-1887).[3]