Banded pipefish
| Banded pipefish | ||||||||||||
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A pair of banded pipefish, the male (above) carries eggs (recognizable when the picture is enlarged). |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus | ||||||||||||
| ( Bleeker , 1853) |
The banded pipefish ( Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus ) is a small species of pipefish that occurs in the tropical western Pacific , around the Indonesian islands, in very shallow water down to a depth of ten meters.
features
The fish are 18 to 19 centimeters long. Her body is white and is patterned by red, darkly bordered rings. The rings turn almost black in older animals. Like all flag- tail pipefish , they have a fan-shaped caudal fin. The snout is long and pipette-like . It differs from the very similar broadband pipefish ( Dunckerocampus boylei ) by the narrower rings and the pattern on the caudal fin . The caudal fin of the banded pipefish is white with a red ring, or red with a white center and edge.
Fin formula : dorsal soft rays: 20 - 26, anal soft rays 4.
Way of life
The banded pipefish lives very hidden in lagoons, tidal pools and outer reefs, mainly in caves, which it also constantly inhabits together with various types of shrimp and moray eels . It feeds on very small crustaceans (especially copepods ) and cleans larger fish. When swimming, she prefers the free water space and keeps a distance from the substrate. Adult fish usually live in pairs.
Like all pipefish, they are oviparous , the reddish eggs are taken over by the female after they are laid by the male, who carries them around on the spongy underside of the tail until the larvae hatch. The hatching fry are initially transparent and live pelagic . If they go over to the adult life close to the ground with a length of about 30 mm, pigmentation sets in. After that, they initially live in very shallow water in the intertidal zone.
literature
- Rudie H. Kuiter : Seahorses, pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives , Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-8001-3244-3 .
Web links
- Banded Pipefish on Fishbase.org (English)