Needle horses and shredded fish

Needle horses and shredded fish
	Great sea fish ( Phycodurus eques )
Systematics
	Acanthomorphata
	Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
	Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order :	Pipefish (Syngnathiformes)
Family :	Pipefish (Syngnathidae)
Subfamily :	Needle horses and shredded fish
Scientific name
	Solegnathinae
	Gill , 1859

Australian thorn needle horse ( Solegnathus spinosissimus )

The subfamily of needle horses and pipefish (Solegnathinae) includes various pipefish species from the Indo-Pacific , including the well-known pipefish from the coasts of Australia . The shredded fish differ from the other members of the group by their leaf-like, camouflaging skin protrusions.

All needle horses and shrimp fish lack a caudal fin. The tail of the needle horse, like that of the sea horse , is used as a grasping organ.

Reproduction

As with all pipefish, the females pass the eggs to the male fish, which they carry on the underside of the tail until they hatch. There is no pelagic larval stage. The hatched fry immediately move on to their parents' hidden way of life near the bottom. Therefore, all species only have a relatively small range.

species

There are three genera, one of which is monotypical .

Phycodurus
- Great sea fish ( Phycodurus eques )
Phyllopteryx
- Sea dragon or small shredded fish ( Phyllopteryx taeniolatus )
- Red Sea Dragon ( Phyllopteryx dewysea )
Solegnathus
- Duncker's needle horse ( Solegnathus dunckeri ), 50 cm long, coast from New South Wales to South Queensland .
- Hardwick's needle horse ( Solegnathus hardwickii ), 50 cm long, Chinese Sea to southern Japan .
- Indonesian needle horse ( Solegnathus lettiensis ), 45 cm long, Banda Sea , Java , Moluccas , Flores .

literature

Rudie H. Kuiter: Seahorses, pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3244-3