Syngnathus floridae
Dusky Pipefish
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Gasterosteiformes (Sticklebacks and relatives)
Syngnathidae (Pipefishes)
Syngnathus
Syngnathus floridae (Dusky Pipefish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
Composite (multiple sources) (McEachran, J.D. and J.D. Fechhelm. Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. University of Texas Press, Austin.)
and processed using AI-assisted text extraction.
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Characters
Slender and elongate, low dorsal fin base, relatively long snout, broad preorbital bone. Head length 12.7% to 18.9% of SL, snout length 47.6% to 62.5% of head length, snout depth 9.6% to 20.8% of snout length. Body depth at anal ring 10.5% to 31.3%, trunk depth 16.4% to 45.5% of head length. Pectoral fin with 12 to 16 rays. Dorsal fin extends over 0.25 to 3 trunk rings and 4 to 7 tail rings, with 26 to 35 rays. Anal fin with 2 to 4 rays, caudal fin with 10 rays. Trunk rings 16 to 19, tail rings 29 to 39. Principal body ridges rather low. Superior trunk and tail ridges discontinuous near dorsal fin insertion. Inferior trunk and tail ridges continuous. Lateral trunk and tail ridges continuous below dorsal fin base. Brood pouch located under tail, with brood plates and membranes present.
White to brownish, variably mottled or blotched on dorsum and upper side, but markings do not form bands.
Distribution
Western Atlantic from Chesapeake Bay and Bermuda to Panama, including the northern Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, and the western Caribbean Sea.
Habitat Associations
Grass beds in coastal areas and estuaries
Biology
Microcrustaceans
Maximum known size is 258 mm SL
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).
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: in brood pouch or similar structure; bearers (external brooders); parental care: paternal. Male carries the eggs in a brood pouch (Ref. 205, 53335).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2016-07-05. Resilience: High (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
References
Longley and Hildebrand 1941
Gunter 1945 (as S. mackayi)
Bohlke and Chaplin 1968
Hoese and Moore 1977
Dawson 1982
C. R. Robins et al. 1986
Boschung 1992
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray (1986) A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p.
Teixeira, R.L. and J.A. Musick (1995) Trophic ecology of two congeneric pipefishes (Syngnathidae) of the lower York River, Virginia. Environ. Biol. Fishes 43(3):295-309.
Smith, C.L. (1997) National Audubon Society field guide to tropical marine fishes of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and Bermuda. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. 720 p.
Murdy, E.O., R.S. Birdsong and J.A. Musick (1997) Fishes of Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Institution Press Washington and London. 324 p.
Matsunuma, M. (2017) Syngnathus chihiroe, a new species of pipefish (Syngnathidae) from southern Japan. Zootaxa 4232(3):385-396.
Comments On Syngnathus floridae