Pipefish
Last updated
Their name refers to their fused jaws, from Ancient Greek words meaning "together" and "jaw".[1] Small fishes known as pipefishes belong to the subfamily Syngnathinae, which along with seahorses and seadragons makes up the family Syngnathidae.[1] Their appearance resembles seahorses that have straight bodies and very small mouths.[2]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassActinopterygii
- DivisionTeleostei
- OrderSyngnathiformes
- FamilySyngnathidae
Named by Bonaparte, 1831
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Pipefish (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Quick Facts
- Length
- 35–40 cm (14–15.5 in)
- Habitat
- sheltered areas in coral reefs or seagrass beds
- Subfamily
- Syngnathinae
- Family
- Syngnathidae
Facts from the source article.
Biology and range
The snout is a long tube ending in a narrow, toothless mouth that opens upwards.[2] Their skeleton is modified into armored plating with several longitudinal ridges, making the body angular in cross-section.[2] Some species have prehensile tails like seahorses, and most have a caudal fin for locomotion.[2] Males provide all postzygotic care, brooding offspring on a body region or in a brood pouch.[3]
Courtship involves lengthy displays, including a ritualized dance with wriggling and shaking motions.[4] The male fertilizes eggs in the pouch or on a ventral skin patch, then assumes an S-shaped posture.[5] Males are the limiting sex because they have a physical limit on egg numbers they can carry.[6] Male pipefish invest more energy per zygote than females and may consume embryos to regain energy.[7][5]
Snake-like characteristics are evident in their elongated, slender body and tail.[2] Locomotion relies primarily on a dorsal fin that is always present, while ventral fins are never found.[2] Near the upper rear corner of the gill cover, the gill openings are situated and are very tiny.[2] Slow movement through open water is typical for many pipefish, achieved by rapid dorsal fin vibrations.[2]
Despite differences across species, every brood pouch features a small opening used for egg deposition.[8] When predators are nearby, pipefish reduce their dancing and copulation frequency, while females deposit a greater number of eggs during each mating event.[4]
What the specialist sources record
The World Register of Marine Species records Syngnathinae as a subfamily within Syngnathidae, order Syngnathiformes, class Teleostei, and notes its environment includes marine, brackish, and freshwater.[9] A 1999 study in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology found that male pipefish provide all postzygotic care through a placenta-like connection.[3] A 2003 study in Evolution documented that brood pouches vary significantly among pipefish species and can be located along the entire underside or just at the tail base.[8] A 1989 study in The American Naturalist concluded that male pipefish are the limiting sex due to physical limits on egg carriage.[6]
A 1986 study in Marine Ecology Progress Series found that male pipefish invest more energy per zygote than females and may consume embryos when exhausted.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Zoologisches Wörterbuch. Tiernamen, allgemeinbiologische, anatomische, physiologische Termini und biographische Daten", Gustav Fischer, 1990 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chisholm 1911, p. 634 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The genetic mating system of a sex-role-reversed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle): A molecular inquiry", Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1999, p. 357–365 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Berglund, "Risky sex: Male pipefishes mate at random in the presence of a predator", Animal Behaviour, July 1993, p. 169–175; Sogabe, "The function of daily greetings in a monogamous pipefish Corythoichthys haematopterus", Journal of Fish Biology, 2007-08-01, p. 585–595 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sagebakken, "Parental Care and Brood Reduction in a Pipefish", Goteborg, 2012 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Reproductive success of females limited by males in two pipefish species", The American Naturalist, 1989, p. 506–516 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Reversed sex roles and parental energy investment in zygotes of two pipefish (Syngnathidae) species", Marine Ecology Progress Series, 1986-03-26 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Pipefish" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The dynamics of male brooding, mating patterns, and sex roles in pipefishes and seahorses (family Syngnathidae)", Evolution, June 2003, p. 1374–86 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- World Register of Marine Species, Syngnathinae (AphiaID 154405). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Pipefish (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Seahorses and Pipefish
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Pipefish (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced