Broadnosed Pipefish
Syngnathus typhle
Ringed pipefish
Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus
About
The ringed pipefish is a slender, banded relative of the seahorse that hovers close to reef crevices rather than swimming far. Its bold striping makes it one of the easier pipefish to spot once you know where to look.
Also known as: dunckerocampus dactyliophorus, banded pipefish, pipefish
- Length
- 19 cm
- Depth
- up to 56 m
How to tell it apart
Several reef pipefish share a banded pattern. This one's tail fin is red with a white edge and a central white or yellow spot, a combination not shared by similar banded pipefish.
Appearance
This pipefish has a straight, thin body marked with alternating bands of dark brown or reddish colour and white. One dark band crosses the gill cover just behind the head. Fleshy, thread-like streamers trail back from its head, thought to help it blend in among reeds and weed. It grows up to 19 cm long.
Habitat
It lives in tide pools, lagoons, and on outer reef slopes, often tucked into caves and crevices, across warm tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific and the Red Sea.
Breeding
As in seahorses, it is the male that carries the eggs. The female puts her eggs into a brood pouch under the male's tail. There they develop, and the male gives birth once they are ready.
Is it dangerous?
harmless
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
