pipefish

pipefish, any of about 200 species in 51 genera of elongated fishes allied to the sea horses in the family Syngnathidae (order Gasterosteiformes). Pipefishes are very slender, long-bodied fishes that are covered with rings of bony armour. They have long tubular snouts and small mouths, a single dorsal fin, and usually a small tail fin. Depending on the species, they may range in length from about 2 to 65 cm (1 to 26 inches).

Pipefishes are found in tropical and subtropical regions. They are primarily marine; however, some may enter and even live in freshwater environments. Pipefishes have diverse lifestyles; they usually inhabit coastal marine areas where they can feed and hide among the sea grasses, especially eelgrasses, or coral reefs. Some are found in open oceans at depths of up to 400 metres (about 1,300 feet), and others live in fresh or brackish water. Furthermore, some pipefishes live in close association with other species; the bluestripe pipefish (Doryrhamphus excisus), for example, lives alongside other fishes and picks parasites off their bodies.

Pipefishes prey upon small aquatic organisms and feed by sucking food rapidly into the mouth. Their reproductive behaviour, like that of sea horses, is distinctive in that the male carries the fertilized eggs until they hatch. Among pipefishes the eggs may be stuck to the ventral (under) surface of the male’s body, embedded in a spongy area, or carried in a brood pouch. Different pipefishes exhibit varying degrees of brood pouch development; the brood pouch may be made up of simple folds of skin or “zip-front” enclosures or may exist as a fully formed cavity as in sea horses.