| Greater pipefish | |
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Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Syngnathiformes |
| Family: | Syngnathidae |
| Genus: | Syngnathus |
| Species: | S. acus |
| Binomial name | |
| Syngnathus acus | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
Thegreater pipefish (Syngnathus acus) is apipefish of thefamilySyngnathidae.[2] It is aseawater fish and thetype species of the genusSyngnathus.[4]
The genus nameSyngnathus derives from the Greek,syn,symphysis meaninggrown together andgnathos meaningjaw. The Latin species' nameacus meansneedle.[5]
The greater pipefish has a long segmented armoured body, angular in cross section and stretching up 45 cm long with its stiff appearance. It ranges a color brown to green in with broad alternating light and dark hue along it. Its customized by a long snout with mouth on end and a slight hump on the top of the body just behind the eyes.
The fish is generally 33 cm to 35 cm in length with a reported maximum length of 47 cm. They are almost square in each segment of the body, and known to feel rigid when handled. The greater pipefish has distinctive body rings which are a sandy brown with darker bars covering its body in between.[6][5]
Theanatomy of fish vary through the sex. The top third of the females belly is deep (when egg bound), twice the breadth of the lower two thirds below the vent. The male is the "tailing" with the twin folds below the vent. The folds of the skin make the middle third and during the "brooding" of the young they swell in size until the young are released from the pouch (at a size of 22 mm to 35 mm).
These fishes feed on livemysids and smallprawns.[2] They are ovoviviparous and reproduce usually three times each year. A few females deposit partial clutches under the tail into the male's brood pouch, that may contain up to 400 eggs.[5]
The greater pipefish is found all around theBritish Isles and is regularly found in theMediterranean Sea.[2]
These fishes are common on southerly and westerly coasts in a variety ofhabitats, often amongstseaweeds andseagrass.[2]
The southern African speciesSyngnathus temminckii(Kaup, 1856) was until recently synonymised withS. acus. However, morphological data clearly show that it is distinct, and genetic data indicate that it is not even the sister taxon ofS. acus, but of another southern African species, the river pipefishS. watermeyeri.[7]
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Photo from Denmark Aquarium| Aboutfish |  | ||||
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