Bay pipefish • Syngnathus leptorhynchus
Top: photo by Christian Kelly. Bottom left: a male bay pipefish with a brood pouch full of developing young. Photos by Kelly Fretwell. Bottom right: an eelgrass isopod (Idotea resecata) clings to a bay pipefish. Photo by the Hakai Institute FABS (Fish Assemblage Beach Seining) team.
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Identification
The bay pipefish has a very long, thin body, which is encircled by bony rings internally, making it fairly inflexible. It has a long thin snout with a tiny mouth, a tiny rounded tail and pectoral fins, and a long low dorsal fin. The maximum recorded length for this species is 39 cm.
Habitat & Range
The bay pipefish is generally a nearshore species, though sometimes it is found in shallow offshore waters. It camouflages itself in eelgrass beds (where it looks like a strand of eelgrass) and in patches of other seaweed in bays and estuaries. It can also be found hanging around wharves and floating freely in tidelines. Its range stretches from Sitka Alaska to southern Baja California.
Similar Species
The tubesnout (Aulorhynchus flavidus) and the Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) are not quite as long and thin as the bay pipefish. The tubesnout has a triangular dorsal fin as well as larger pectoral and caudal (tail) fins. The sand lance is silvery and has an obviously larger and differently-shaped head compared to the bay pipefish's long thin snout and small mouth.
Intriguing Info
Pipefishes and seahorses belong to the same family. For all species of this family the female transfers eggs to the male's brood pouch, located under the tail, and the male cares for the developing young.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/54538-Syngnathus-leptorhynchus
The bay pipefish has a very long, thin body, which is encircled by bony rings internally, making it fairly inflexible. It has a long thin snout with a tiny mouth, a tiny rounded tail and pectoral fins, and a long low dorsal fin. The maximum recorded length for this species is 39 cm.
Habitat & Range
The bay pipefish is generally a nearshore species, though sometimes it is found in shallow offshore waters. It camouflages itself in eelgrass beds (where it looks like a strand of eelgrass) and in patches of other seaweed in bays and estuaries. It can also be found hanging around wharves and floating freely in tidelines. Its range stretches from Sitka Alaska to southern Baja California.
Similar Species
The tubesnout (Aulorhynchus flavidus) and the Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) are not quite as long and thin as the bay pipefish. The tubesnout has a triangular dorsal fin as well as larger pectoral and caudal (tail) fins. The sand lance is silvery and has an obviously larger and differently-shaped head compared to the bay pipefish's long thin snout and small mouth.
Intriguing Info
Pipefishes and seahorses belong to the same family. For all species of this family the female transfers eggs to the male's brood pouch, located under the tail, and the male cares for the developing young.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/54538-Syngnathus-leptorhynchus
References
Lamb, A. and Edgell, P. (2010). Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 88.
Syngnathus leptorhynchus Girard, 1854. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 01/05/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2014).
Lamb, A. and Edgell, P. (2010). Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 88.
Syngnathus leptorhynchus Girard, 1854. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 01/05/2014.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2014).