PIPEFISH

any of more than 150 species of elongated fishes allied to the sea horses, in the family Syngnathidae (order Gasterosteiformes). Pipefishes are very slender, long-bodied fishes covered, like sea horses, with rings of bony armour. They have long, tubular snouts and small mouths, a single dorsal fin, and, usually, a small tail fin. Depending on the species, they may range in length from about 2.5 to 50 cm (1 to 20 inches). Pipefishes are found in warm regions and are primarily marine, although some live in or enter fresh water. They are weak, slow swimmers and usually live in beds of seaweed, eelgrass, or other aquatic plants among which they can feed and hide. They feed by sucking their prey (small aquatic organisms) rapidly into their mouths. Their reproductive behaviour, like that of sea horses, is distinctive in that the male, not the female, carries the fertilized eggs until they hatch. Among pipefishes, the eggs may be stuck to the surface of the body, embedded in a spongy area, or carried in a brood pouch. The brood pouch is derived from lengthwise folds of skin and, depending on the species, affords varying degrees of coverage for the incubating eggs. Related to the pipefishes are the ghost pipefishes of the family Solenostomidae. These are small, rare, Indo-Pacific fishes with long snouts and enlarged fins. In this species the female's brood pouch is formed by the union of the ventral fins.