Relevant synonyms None Misidentification None Meristic formula trunk rings (until anus), 13-17; tail rings, 37-42; D, 33-45; P, 10-13.  drawing : Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Body very slender and elongated. Trunk clearly wider than tail. Armored by dermal plates forming a series of rings. Superior trunk and tail ridges discontinuous, inferior trunk and tail ridges continuous (see Figure). Mouth small and terminal on a protruding cylindrical snout, without true teeth. Snout length less than half head length. Median dorsal post-orbital part of head not elevated. Dorsal fin origin above trunk. 9-12 suborbital rings. Pectoral, anal and caudal fins present. color : brown, occasionally with dark bars, on dorsal and flanks. Pale to cream on ventral, with silvery sheen on head and trunk. Dorsal fin hyaline. size : common 11-13 cm in Mediterranean (max. 17 cm in Atlantic). DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS Hippocampus spp.: snout not in line with longitudinal body axis, tail prehensile, and caudal fin absent. Entelurus aequoraeus and Nerophis spp.: superior trunk and tail ridges continuous (see Figure), pectoral and anal fins absent. Minyichthys sentus: inferior trunk and tail ridges discontinuous (see Figure). Syngnathus typhle: snout compressed laterally, its depth more than eye diameter. Syngnathus phlegon: posterior angles of rings elevated and pointed. Syngnathus acus, S. taenionotus and S. tenuirostris: snout length more than half head length. Syngnathus abaster: total subdorsal rings 6-11, often with dark spots or stripe along dorsal fin base. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY Sexually dimorphic, the males incubating the eggs in a brood area, with pouch plates and membranous folds to protect them, under the tail. In Atlantic waters, males mature at ca. 10 cm. Spawning season from April to August. Eggs diameter around 1.5 mm; early free-living young at 13-14 mm. habitat : nearshore waters, over sandy or muddy bottom to 10 m depth. Often found among algae and eel-seagrass (Zoostera and Posidonia), which it uses as camouflage.

1st MEDITERRANEAN RECORD Off Málaga, Alboran Sea, 1981-82. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide : Eastern Atlantic, from Norway to Biscay, southern British Isles and western coast of Portugal. Mediterranean : recorded off Málaga, Alboran Sea (Reina-Hervás et al., 1981-82. In 2004, recorded from the Anatolian coast (Gokoglu et al.). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Rare. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Via Gibraltar. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS Only six specimens have been recorded in the Mediterranean. These fishes have potential economic value as popular aquarium species.

KEY REFERENCES Gokoglu M., Bodur T. and Kaya Y., 2004. First records of Hippocampus fuscus and Syngnathus rostellatus (Osteichthyes: Syngnathidae) from the Anatolian coast (Mediterranean Sea). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 84: 1096-1094. Reina-Hervás J.A., 1989. Contribución al estudio de la F. Syngnathidae (Pisces) en las costas del sureste de España. Archivos do Museu Bocage, Nova Série, I(21): 325-334. Reina-Hervàs J.A., Muñoz-Chápuli R. and Blasco M., 1981-82. Presencia de teleósteos atlánticos en el Mediterráneo occidental. Mon. Trab. Zool., Málaga, 3-4: 49-56.   Vincent A.C.J., Berglund A. and Ahnesjö I., 1995. Reproductive ecology of five pipefish species in one eelgrass meadow. Environmental Biology of Fishes, 44: 347-361. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

Last update of the species sheet: June 2004 ©ciesm 2002