Broadnosed Pipefish
Syngnathus typhle
Northern Pipefish
Syngnathus fuscus
About
The northern pipefish is a slender, stick-like fish that drifts among seagrass and eelgrass, easy to overlook against the blades. Its long, rigid body sets it apart from almost every other fish on the reef.
- Length
- 17 cm · max 33 cm
- Depth
- up to 366 m
How to tell it apart
This fish can be mistaken for a young seahorse, a close relative. Unlike a seahorse, it keeps its head in line with its straight body rather than bent at an angle, and it has no curled, grasping tail.
Appearance
This fish has a long, thin, rigid body made of bony rings, with a long snout ending in a small, rounded mouth. It is olive or brownish on top. The dorsal fin sits roughly in the middle of the body, and the tail fin is small and rounded. It has no pelvic fins, and its anal fin is tiny. It grows up to 33 cm long, though most are closer to 17 cm.
Habitat
It lives among seagrass beds in bays, estuaries, and tide pools, sheltered from breaking waves, and sometimes enters fresh water. It is found in the north-western Atlantic, from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in Canada down to northeastern Florida and the north-western Gulf of Mexico, at depths from 5 to 366 m.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
