Acentronura

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Acentronura
Acentronura brehabenula

Acentronura brehabenula

Systematics
Acanthomorphata
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Pipefish (Syngnathiformes)
Family : Pipefish (Syngnathidae)
Genre : Acentronura
Scientific name
Acentronura
Kaup , 1853

Acentronura is a species of pipefish thatis poor in species and occurs in the Red Sea and in the western Indo-Pacific from the coast of East Africa to Japan and Australia.

features

Acentronura species are 5.5 to 6.5 cm long, have a very elongated, thin body and have no caudal fin. Instead, like the seahorses ( hippocampus ), they have a prehensile tail that enables them to cling to aquatic plants or algae. In their external appearance they stand between pipefish and seahorses, with the slender females more similar to the pipefish, while the males, which have brood pouches, are broader and more seahorse-like. The brood pouch of the males lies under the tail and behind the anus. Like all pipefish, Acentronura is armored by a ring of bone plates. The dorsal fin is supported by 16 to 17 fin rays.

Acentronura species mainly inhabit soft soils with little algae growth. In contrast to the seahorses, they do not swim upright and do not have their head bent at a 90 ° angle to the body, but keep it in line with the body. Similar to the shredded fish , the Acentronura species are well camouflaged by skin protrusions and their skin also allows algae to grow.

species

There are three recognized types:

External system

Acentronura and two other genera ( Amphelicturus , Idiotropiscis ) are called dwarf needle horses in German and seem to be a link between the common pipefish and the seahorses. They are classified in their own subfamily, the Acentronurinae, or assigned to the Hippocampinae family , which no longer only includes the seahorses and is therefore no longer monotypical . Maybe they are the sister group of the seahorses.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ N. Wilson, G. Rouse (2010): Convergent camouflage and the non-monophyly of 'seadragons' (Syngnathidae: Teleostei): suggestions for a revised taxonomy of syngnathids. Zoologica Scripta doi : 10.1111 / j.1463-6409.2010.00449.x
  2. ↑ Kuiter (2001)
  3. ↑ Peter R. Teske, Luciano B. Beheregaray: Evolution of seahorses' upright posture was linked to Oligocene expansion of seagrass habitats. Biol. Lett. 23 August 2009 vol. 5 no. 4: pp. 521-523 doi : 10.1098 / rsbl.2009.0152
  4. ↑ Healy Hamilton, Norah Saarman, Beth Moore, Graham Short, & W. Brian Simison: A Multigene Phylogeny of Syngnathid Fishes. PDF ( Memento from April 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : Acentronura  - collection of images, videos, and audio files