The dazzling, multicolored mandarinfish is surely a candidate for most beautiful fish in the sea, but looks can be deceiving. This stunning salt-water beauty harbors a foul poison, making it alluring but dangerous.
The fish’s uniquely foul stench has made it famous among marine enthusiasts and is often duly noted by scientists. The stink is not incidental, nor are its spines, for the mandarinfish needs protection, as it lacks one of the most basic defenses a fish normally has: scales.
