Multi-banded pipefish
| Multi-banded pipefish | ||||||||||||
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A pair of the multi-banded pipefish, the male (in front) carries eggs and turns the belly side towards the reef (photo from the Red Sea). |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Dunckerocampus multiannulatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Regan , 1903) |
The multi- banded pipefish ( Dunckerocampus multiannulatus ) is a small species of pipefish found in the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean from Mozambique to the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago . According to Kuiter, the distribution area extends to the Andamans and Sumatra .
features
The fish are 19 cm long. Their bodies are whitish to pink in color and are patterned by narrow reddish, reddish brown to brownish black rings. Four to five of these ligaments run across the gill cover . Like all flag- tail pipefish , they have a fan-shaped caudal fin. The snout is long and pipette-like . Their underside is yellow. From the very similar yellow- banded pipefish ( Dunckerocampus pessuliferus ) the multi- banded pipefish differs through the whitish-reddish basic color and the pattern on the caudal fin . The caudal fin is red, with a white outer edge and an arrow-shaped white mark at the base of the caudal fin. Your dorsal fin is supported by 20 to 23 rays , the small anal fin by four.
Way of life
The multi-banded pipefish lives at depths of up to 20 meters in protected coral reefs , especially in caves or under overhangs. They always turn their belly side towards the next substrate, so if they swim near the roof of the cave, they turn on their backs. The fish feed on very small crustaceans (especially copepods ) and often clean larger fish.
Adult multi-band pipefish usually live in pairs. Like all pipefish, they are oviparous , the eggs are taken over by the female after they are laid by the male, who carries them around on the spongy side of the abdomen until the larvae hatch.
literature
- Rudie H. Kuiter : Seahorses, pipefish, shredded fish and their relatives , 2001, Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart, ISBN 3-8001-3244-3
Web links
- Multibanded Pipefish on Fishbase.org (English)