Syngnathus leptorhynchus
Bay Pipefish
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Gasterosteiformes (Sticklebacks and relatives)
Syngnathidae (Pipefishes)
Syngnathus
Syngnathus leptorhynchus (Bay Pipefish)
Description
This species account was compiled from
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Characters
Body shape: eel-like.
Distribution
Eastern Pacific: Sitka, Alaska to southern Baja California in Mexico; the northern population ranges from Alaska to Monterey Bay, southern population from Morro Bay southward.
Habitat Associations
Brackish, marine. demersal. depth range 0-5 m. Found in: estuaries, seagrass beds.
Biology
Common in eelgrass of bays and estuaries, sometimes taken in shallow offshore waters (Ref. 5316). Feeds on crustaceans (Ref. 6885). Females larger than males (R.C. de Graaf, pers. Comm., 2001; Ref. 93899). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205). The male carries the eggs in a brood pouch which is found under the tail (Ref. 205).
Max length: 32.5 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: in brood pouch or similar structure; bearers (external brooders); parental care: paternal. A female wraps herself around a male in a rigid vertical S position. Eggs are fertilised in the brood pouch of the male (Ref. 6885).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2014-04-30. Resilience: High (tmax=2;).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: public aquariums.
References
Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966) Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p.
Eschmeyer, W.N., E.S. Herald and H. Hammann (1983) A field guide to Pacific coast fishes of North America. Boston (MA, USA): Houghton Mifflin Company. xii+336 p.
Dawson, C.E. (1985) Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA.
Hart, J.L. (1973) Pacific fishes of Canada. Bull. Fish. Res. Board Can. 180:740 p.
Coleman, R.M. (1999) Parental care in intertidal fishes. p. 165-180. In M.H. Horn, K.l. Martin and M.A. Chotkowski (eds.) Intertidal fishes: life in two worlds. Academic Press, USA. 399 p.
Bayer, R.D. (1980) Size, seasonality, and sex ratios of the bay pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus) in Oregon. Northwest Science 54(3):161-167.
Love, M.S., C.W. Mecklenburg, T.A. Mecklenburg and L.K. Thorsteinson (2005) Resource inventory of marine and estuarine fishes of the West Coast and Alaska: A checklist of North Pacific and Arctic Ocean species from Baja California to the Alaska-Yukon border. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Seattle, Washington, 98104.
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