Solenostomids

/The Conscientious Aquarist

The Ghost Pipefishes, Family Solenostomidae

By Bob Fenner

Solenostomus armatus

According to Nelson (1994) the syngnathids form a larger group, the Superfamily Syngnathoidea with the another family sometimes labeled as seahorses as well as Ghost Pipefishes, the otherworldly family Solenostomidae (whose five species have the females brooding their young in pouches).

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Solenostomus armatus (Weber 1913), the Halimeda or Armored Pipefish. West Pacific; Arufura Sea, Indonesia to Kyushu, Japan. To 5.7 cm. in length. Looking like algae, this species hangs around in such, camouflaging itself from predators. N. Sulawesi images.

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Solenostomus cyanopterus Bleeker 1854, the Robust or Longfin Ghost Pipefish. Indo-Pacific; Red Sea, East Africa to Fiji, Australia. To six inches in length. Color variable. Most are brown, but may be black, green, matching seaweed, seagrass for camouflage. Females larger as they brood eggs in this family. N. Sulawesi pix. http://fishbase.sinica.edu.tw/Country/CountrySpecies Summary.cfm?Country=Indonesia&Genus= Solenostomus&Species=cyanopterus


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Solenostomus paegnius. Indo-West Pacific. E. Africa to Australia. To 5 in. PNG pix by PhilS.

Solenostomus paradoxus (Pallas 1770), the Ornate Ghost Pipefish. Indo-West Pacific; Red Sea, East Africa to Marshalls, Australia. To five inches in length. A beauty, if found, generally amongst crinoids, gorgonians, sponges of similar color, markings. Below, N. Sulawesi images, last from Mabul, Malaysia.


Verticals (Full/Cover Page Sizes Available)

Bigger PIX:
The images in this table are linked to large (desktop size) copies. Click on "framed" images to go to the larger size.

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