Sargassum pipefish

Syngnathus pelagicus

Pipefish Over Sandy Bottoms

Tropical
Transcontinental
Marine fish
Atlantic Ocean
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Africa
Central America and the Caribbean
North America
South America
Anguilliform
Medium
Tropical fish

The sargassum pipefish (Syngnathus pelagicus) is a species of pipefish found in the western Atlantic: Maine (United States), Bermuda, Northern Gulf of Mexico to Argentina, Nova Scotia, Antilles, and western Caribbean Sea from Yucatan to Colombia. It is a marine subtropical species, up to 18.1 centimetres (7.1 in) maximal length. This is a little-studied species which is found in floating rafts of Sargassum weed where they are believed to feed on planktonic crustacea.

Class: Teleosts
Order: Pipefishes and Allies
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Syngnathus
Maximum length: 21.2 cm
Water: Marine
Body shape: anguilliform
Distribution: Western Atlantic: Maine (USA), Bermuda and northern Gulf of Mexico to Argentina. Nova Scotia, Antilles, western Caribbean from Yucatan to Colombia (Ref. 26938 ). Taxonomic status of the eastern Atlantic population (from Mauritania to Gabon) needs further study and records from Cape of Good Hope, South Africa and the Indo-Pacific area require confirmation (Ref. 4509 ).
Conservation status: LCLeast Concern

Report a correction