Subfamily Syngnathinae Scientific name Syngnathus typhle Rank Species | Phylum Chordata Genus Syngnathus Higher classification Syngnathus | |
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Similar Syngnathus, Straightnose pipefish, Pipefish, Greater pipefish, Syngnathidae | ||
Broadnosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle) is a fish of the Syngnathidae family (seahorses and pipefishes). It is native to the Eastern Atlantic from Vardø in Norway, Baltic Sea (north to the Gulf of Finland) and the British Isles at North to Morocco at South. Also in the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov. It is common in the coastal shallow waters, usually on reefs with seagrasses. This species is notable for its "broad" snout, which is as deep as its body.
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Description
The broadnosed pipefish is a slender, elongated fish with a hexagonal cross-section which distinguishes it from its even more threadlike relation the straightnose pipefish (Nerophis ophidion) which has a circular cross-section. The body surface is covered by small bony plates. The head resembles that of a seahorse with a long, laterally flattened snout and obliquely sloping mouth. Unlike the straightnose pipefish, it has a fan-shaped caudal fin. The general colour is greenish, often with various darker mottling, and the belly is yellow. The average size is about 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) with a maximum of 25 cm (10 in).
Distribution
The broadnosed pipefish is native to the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Its range extends from Vardø, Norway to Morocco. It is found at depths down to about 20 m (66 ft).
Biology
The broadnosed pipefish tends to rest in a vertical position among the fronds of seaweed and feeds on plankton such as copepods which it sucks in through its mouth.
This species of pipefish has a sex-role reversed mating system in which females compete for access to males. This fish breeds in the summer. The male has a brood pouch into which several females deposit clutches of about twenty eggs and where the eggs are fertilised. The fry hatch after about four weeks and are expelled into the open water. Even after this the male continues to provide some parental care as the fry can retreat into the brood pouch in case of danger.
