Solenostomus | |
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Two Solenostomus paradoxus specimens | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Syngnathiformes |
Superfamily: | Syngnathoidea |
Family: | Solenostomidae Bonaparte, 1846 |
Genus: | Solenostomus Lacépède, 1803 |
Type species | |
Fistularia paradoxa Pallas,, 1770 | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
Solenostomatichthys Bleeker, 1874 |
Solenostomus, also known as the ghost pipefishes, false pipefishes or tubemouth fishes, is a genus of fishes in the order Syngnathiformes. Solenostomus is the only genus in the family Solenostomidae, and includes six currently recognized species. [2] [3] Ghost pipefishes are related to pipefishes and seahorses. They are found in tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific. [4]
The animals, none of which are longer than 17 centimetres (6.7 in), float near motionlessly, with the mouth facing downwards, around a background that makes them nearly impossible to see. They feed on tiny crustaceans, sucked inside through their long snout. They live in open waters except during breeding, when they find a coral reef or muddy bottom, changing color and shape to minimize visibility. [4]
In many respects, they are similar to the pipefishes, but can be distinguished by the presence of pelvic fins, a prominent, spiny, dorsal fin, and star-shaped plates on the skin. Unlike true pipefish, female ghostpipefishes use their enlarged pelvic fins to brood their eggs until they hatch. [4]
Two fossil ghost pipefish genera, Calamostoma and Solenorhynchus , are known from the Eocene of Italy. These are placed in their own extinct family, Solenorhynchinae. [5]
The Zeiformes are a small order of exclusively marine ray-finned fishes most notable for the dories, a group of common food fish. The order consists of about 33 species in six extant families, mostly deep-sea types. The boarfishes (Caproidae) have been previously included in this order though they are currently included in the Perciformes.
Gasterosteoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes that includes the sticklebacks and relatives, the 5th edition of Fishes of the World classifies this suborder within the order Scorpaeniformes.
The Ictaluridae, sometimes called ictalurids, are a family of catfish native to North America, where they are an important food source and sometimes fished for sport. The family includes about 51 species, some commonly known as bullheads, madtoms, channel catfish, and blue catfish.
The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons. The name is derived from Ancient Greek: σύν, meaning "together", and γνάθος, meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the traits that the entire family have in common.
Frogfishes are any member of the anglerfish family Antennariidae, of the order Lophiiformes. Antennariids are known as anglerfish in Australia, where the term "frogfish" refers to members of the unrelated family Batrachoididae. Frogfishes are found in almost all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas around the world, the primary exception being the Mediterranean Sea.
The Syngnathiformes are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the leafy seadragons, sea moths, trumpetfishes and seahorses, among others.
Leptonotus is a genus of pipefishes of the family Syngnathidae. The name is derived from the Greek leptos meaning "thin" and noton meaning "back".
Bagarius is an Asian genus of catfishes of the family Sisoridae. It includes five to six extant species and potentially one extinct fossil species, B. gigas.
Calamostoma is an extinct relative of the ghost pipefish that lived during the early Eocene. It contains a single species, C. lesiniforme from the famous Monte Bolca site of Italy. It is one of the few known fossil ghost pipefishes. Calamostoma and the other Bolca solenostomid, Solenorhynchus, are both placed in the extinct subfamily Solenorhynchinae.
Doryrhamphus is a genus of pipefishes, one of the two genera colloquially known as flagtail pipefishes and are popular in the aquarium trade. The members of this genus are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans where they inhabit reef environments. The species in this genus have a maximum length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in) or less, with D. janssi being the only species that surpasses 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in). Most species have a horizontal blue line along their body, and all have a whitish-edged tail that is marked contrastingly with black, red or yellow.
The long-tailed ghost pipefish or armored ghost pipefish is a ghost pipefish in the family Solenostomidae. The species name comes from the Greek armatura, referring to this fish's armor of dermal plates. Solenostomus leptosoma is now considered a synonym of S. armatus, the valid species identification.
The robust ghost pipefish, also known as the blue-finned ghost pipefish, Racek's ghost pipefish, robust-snouted ghost pipefish, or the squaretail ghost-pipefish, is a species of false pipefish belonging to the family Solenostomidae. Its appearance can vary greatly due to its ability to change colors over several hours, but the general body shape and fin shapes allow it to mimic a piece of seagrass.
The Halimeda ghost pipefish, Solenostomus halimeda, is a species of false pipefishes belonging to the family Solenostomidae.
Cosmocampus heraldi is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is known from only seven specimens, which were found at the Desventuradas and Juan Fernandez Islands in Chile. It inhabits rocky reefs and sandy areas at depths of 6–23 metres (20–75 ft), where it can grow to lengths of 7 centimetres (2.8 in). It is expected to feed on small crustaceans like other pipefish. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs until giving birth to live young.
Syngnathoidea is a superfamily of the pipefish order Syngnathiformes. It is divided into two families, the speciose pipefish Syngnathidae, which includes the sea horses and monotypic Solenostomidae, the ghost pipefishes, which has just five species. The superfamily occurs worldwide in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas, especially in coastal waters around rock and coral reefs and among sea weed and sea grass beds. However, there are also pelagic species of pipefish and even freshwater species. In total the superfamily comprises in excess of 50 genera and nearly 300 species.
Solenostomus leptosoma, the delicate ghost pipefish is a species of false pipefish from the family Solenostomidae. It is an Indo-Pacific species which occurs from the Mascarene Islands east to Japan, Indonesia and Australia. It is mainly found along the edge of reefs where the reef borders on bordering on open sand substrates. They are mainly pelagic in their early life stages until they mature and settle on the substrate to breed. The females carry the eggs in a brood pouch formed by their modified pelvic fins.
Earl Stannard Herald was an American zoologist, ichthyologist and television presenter. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and got his Ph.D. in 1943. In 1948, he became the director of the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco, California, and from 1952 to 1966, he presented the popular science television programme Science in Action. Throughout his life, he studied a variety of aquatic organisms, especially pipefishes, and described many new taxa. He died in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, in a scuba diving accident.
Aulostomoidei is a superfamily of the order Syngnathiformes, which also contains groups such as the seahorses, pipefishes and dragonets. It is one of two superfamilies which make up the suborder Aulostomoidei within the Syngnathiformes.
James Wilder Orr is an American fisheries biologist, ichthyologist, and systematist best known for his studies of skates, rockfishes, snailfishes, and flatfishes. He has described 32 new species and two new genera of fishes, and is the author or co-author of more than 130 scientific and popular articles, including three books. His work has focused primarily on the phylogenetic relationships, zoogeography, reproductive biology, and behavior of marine teleosts, particularly deep-water benthic taxa. He has spent most of his career at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in Seattle, as a Research Fisheries Biologist. At the same time, he has served as an Affiliate Professor at the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and Affiliate Curator of Fishes at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle. For his lifetime of service, Orr was presented with a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Distinguished Career Award in 2022.