Common name(s)
Pipefish, The Common Pipefish, Northern Pipefish
Scientific names
Syngnathus fuscus
Description
Pipefish have very slender, ridged bodies that are armored with bony plates. They have a small toothless mouth, at the tip of their blunt-ended tubular snout. Their gills are quite small as well. Pipefish are greenish through olive to brownish on sides and dorsal surface. Pipefish can camouflage themselves by changing colour to blend with their environment. They may have dark bars, mottled spots or white speckling on sides. The pipefish’s ventral surface is bronzy yellow. As well, the caudal fin is brown and pectoral fins are pale. The caudal fin is rounded in a fan shape with the middle rays longer than the rest. Pipefish lack pelvic fins. Their body lengths are usually less than 20.3cm but may reach up to 30.5cm. Males have a wide abdomen just behind their vent with a brood pouch or ‘marsupial’ pouch where they hold and fertilize eggs.
Above is a photo of the Northern pipefish borrowed from: http://www.gma.org/fogm/images/pipefish.gif
Above is a photo of developing baby pipefishes in a male’s brood pouch. This male was caught in a beach seine in East Bay , Bras d’Or Lake.
Above is a photo of the "pregnant" male pipefish being released into its natural habitat.
Diet
Pipefishes are primarily carnivorous and eat a variety of prey items such as copepods, small amphipods, and fish eggs and larvae. Their diets vary with season and availability.
Habitat
Northern pipefish enjoy the protection of eelgrass beds and are found in shallow waters inshore. They may be found in salt marshes, estuaries or harbours and have been known to travel up creeks or rivers to brackish waters. Pipefish can withstand salinities from 0-38.8 ppt. Although pipefish are usually found in grass beds they have been known to frequent gravel, mud and sandy habitats. They may also stray out into coastal areas and hide out under rockweed. In the north Atlantic, pipefishes migrate from estuarine environments to coastal ocean in the winter.
Geographic Range
Pipefish range throughout the Atlantic coast from southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to South Carolina.
Additional Websites
- Learn more with the Northern pipefish Fact Sheet!
- The Gulf of Maine Research Institue also has more interesting information about the Northern Pipefish.
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