Dusky pipefish (Syngnathus floridae)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Chordata · Class: Teleostei · Order: Syngnathiformes · Family: Syngnathidae · Genus: Syngnathus.

Accepted name: Syngnathus floridae · Authority: (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 159450.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Siphostoma floridae Jordan & Gilbert, 1882.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159450 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (FishBase)

Measured values published by FishBase for Syngnathus floridae. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 26 cm · Depth range: 18–55 m · Habitat zone: demersal · Body shape: eel-like · Vulnerability index: 16 of 100.

FishBase notes: Abundant in seagrass beds along coasts. Northern populations move offshore during colder months (Ref. 26938). Found mostly at 5 m or less (Ref. 126547).

Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205). The male carries the eggs in a brood pouch which is found under the tail (Ref. 205). Feeds mostly on small grass shrimp and other small crustaceans (Ref. 93252).

Source: FishBase species summary (SpecCode 3300) — https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Syngnathus-floridae.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

1,516 georeferenced occurrence records for Syngnathus floridae are published through GBIF from 8 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 73 distinct locations from a sample of 1,516 records, omitting 67 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (1,374); Mexico (85); Panama (27); Bermuda (18); Puerto Rico (6).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2332961) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2332961&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=159450 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Conservation status (IUCN Red List)

The IUCN Red List assesses Syngnathus floridae (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) as Least Concern (code LC). No trend, population estimate or threat analysis is given here, because none is available from this source without the Red List API; follow the source link for the full assessment, including its date.

Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (taxon 154853) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/154853/0; GBIF IUCN Red List category endpoint (taxonKey 2332961) — https://api.gbif.org/v1/species/2332961/iucnRedListCategory. Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

Like other members of the genus Syngnathus, S. floridae demonstrate sex-role reversal between males and females in mating and caring for their young. The females deposit their eggs into a brood pouch in the male during copulation. The males then fertilize the eggs and provide all post-zygotic care by physically carrying the eggs and transferring nutrients to the developing embryos through a placenta-like connection. The eggs hatch about 10 days later and are subsequently independent of their parental support.

Dusky pipefish are polygynandrous because both males and females mate with multiple partners. However, males are the limiting sex because they can only carry a certain number of eggs in their brood pouch at one time.

In contrast, females produce more eggs than they can deposit, so they have unlimited success. Furthermore, sexual selection acts on body size, selecting for larger males. Larger males can carry more eggs and have more female mates, and thus the larger males have a higher reproductive success than the smaller males.

Environmental variations between populations of dusky pipefish influence their reproductive success. Temperature of water plays a major role in reproductive success by influencing sexual selection. As temperature increases, the rate for potential reproduction increases for both males and females, but faster for males.

This shows that temperature influences sexual selection by selecting against the slower rate of reproduction in females. Higher temperature influences reproductive success by increasing the number of eggs produced by the female and thus decreasing the number of mates the male needs to fill its brood pouch. In addition, lower temperatures yield a lower reproductive success in males because they do not accept as many eggs in this environment.

Source: Wikipedia: Dusky pipefish — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusky_pipefish (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.