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Mandarinfish Duo

The mandarinfish lives in western Pacific tropical coral reef ecosystems and lacks the scales that are typically seen on bony fish.
(Erwin Poliakoff)

These beautiful mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) are covered in bright blue, red, yellow and orange waves. What they lack, however, are traditional fish scales. Instead of your typical fish scales they are covered in a smelly mucus coating. It's possible that this mucus, which not only smells but also tastes bad, deters predators.