Solegnathus
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Australian thorn needle horse ( Solegnathus spinosissimus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Solegnathus | ||||||||||||
| Swainson , 1839 |
Solegnathus is a genus of pipefish found in the western Pacific from southern Japan across the Sea of China , Java , Flores , the Banda Sea and the Moluccas to the coasts of New South Wales , Queensland and Tasmania .
features
Solegnathus species are relatively large pipefish and grow to be 35 to 50 cm long. They look like large, elongated seahorses . Like all pipefish, Solegnathus is armored by bone plates arranged in a ring. The bone rings are also thorny, which is why the animals are called "thorny dragonfish" in Asian countries. The dorsal fin is large and is located behind the anus on the tail. The breeding zone of the males is under the tail. Solegnathus species live mainly in regions exposed to currents near reefs over open soft soils. Their habitats are often overgrown with soft corals and gorgonians . After hatching, the fry go over to the bentic life. A pelagic stage is absent.
species
There are five types described . Kuiter names two more, so far undescribed species and gives a total of nine species for the genus. The morphological differences between the species are small.
- 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 .
- Robust thorn needle horse ( Solegnathus robustus ), 40 cm long, coast of Flinders Island .
- Australian thorn needle horse ( Solegnathus spinosissimus ), 50 cm long, coast of Tasmania .
- Queensland thorn needle horse ( Solegnathus sp. 1), 50 cm long, Queensland and northern New South Wales.
- Western needle horse ( Solegnathus sp. 2), 50 cm long, Western Australia .
External system
Solegnathus is the sister group of the shredded fish, which Kuiter also places in the subfamily Solegnathinae . At Wilson & Rouse, the torn fish form the subfamily Phyllopteryginae.
literature
- Rudie H. Kuiter : Seahorses: pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives . Ulmer (Eugen), 2001, ISBN 3-80013-244-3
Individual evidence
- ^ 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
Web links
- Solegnathus on Fishbase.org (English)