Honshu pipefish
| Honshu pipefish | ||||||||||||
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A Honshu pipefish in a typical swimming position, its stomach facing the substrate (above). |
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| Doryrhamphus japonicus | ||||||||||||
| Araga & Yoshino , 1975 |
The Honshu pipefish ( Doryrhamphus japonicus ) is a small species of pipefish found in the northwestern Pacific from subtropical Japan to Taiwan .
features
The fish become 8.5 inches long. Their bodies are orange to russet. A narrow blue stripe runs along the sides from the tip of the snout to the tail fin stalk. The body is armored by 20, the tail by 15 bone rings. The dorsal fin is supported by 22 soft rays.
Like all flag- tail pipefish , they have a fan-shaped caudal fin. The snout is short and pipette-like . The Honshu pipefish can be distinguished from the very similar species of blue-stripe pipefish ( D. excisus ) and cleaner pipefish ( D. janssi ) primarily by the narrower blue longitudinal stripe and the pattern on the caudal fin . The caudal fin of the Honshu pipefish is blackish, with three to four characteristic yellow spots and a blue-white outer edge.
Way of life
The Honshu pipefish lives in caves in protected rock reefs from the surface of the water to a depth of no more than 25 meters. There they are often associated with shrimp, crabs and moray eels . The fish feed on very small crustaceans (especially copepods ) and clean larger fish. Adult Honshu pipefish usually live in pairs. Like all pipefish, they are oviparous ; the eggs are taken over by the female after they have been laid by the male, who carries them around on the spongy underside until the larvae hatch. The breeding season begins at the end of May and lasts until September.
literature
- Rudie H. Kuiter : Seahorses, pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives , 2001, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-8001-3244-3
Web links
- Honshu Pipefish on Fishbase.org (English)