Pipefishes

The pipefishes are among the closest relatives to seahorses and seadragons. Similar to those groups, these fishes have elongated snouts for capturing small prey and are extremely well-camouflaged.

The elongated body of pipefishes is thought to be an ancestral trait, with seahorses having evolved their upright position after branching off from their common pipefish-like ancestors. The horizontally-swimming pipefishes are the most diverse of the syngnathids, with over 50 genera and 225 species. These fishes are present globally everywhere but the poles, with populations ranging from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and New Zealand to Norway.

Learn more about pipefishes by checking out the profiles below.

Syngnathidae (Pipehorses)

Photo Scientific Name Common Name IUCN Red List Status Profile Range
h-waleananus Acentronura australe
Waite & Hale, 1921		 Southern little pipehorse DD logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Eastern Indian Ocean
Acentronura dendritica_Mary-Win_O'Brien_GSOTW A. dendritica
(Barbour, 1905) 		West Altantic
Pygmy pipehorse		 LC logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Western Atlantic
h-waleananus A. gracilissima
(Temminck & Schlegel, 1850)		 Graceful pipehorse LC logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Western Pacific
h-waleananus A. larsonae
Dawson, 1984		 Larson's pipehorse DD logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Eastern Indian Ocean
Acentronura_lumnitzeri_Erik_Schlogl_iNat A. lumnitzeri
(Kuiter, 2004) 		Sydney's Pygmy pipehorse LC logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Southwestern Pacific
Acentronura tentaculata_Thomas_Vanderschoot_iNat A. tentaculata
Gunther, 1870 		Shortpouch Pygmy pipehorse LC logo_eolGBIFurl Indo-West Pacific
h.waleananus Cylix tupareomanaia
Short & Turnski, 2021		 Manaia Pygmy pipehorse NE logo_wiki New Zealand
lhimarinepark, iNaturalist Solegnathus dunckeri
Whitley, 1927		 Duncker's pipehorse DD logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Western Pacific
h-waleananus S. hardwickii
(Gray, 1830)		 Hardwicke's pipehorse DD logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Western Indian Ocean,
Western Pacific
h-waleananus S. lettiensis
Bleeker, 1860		 Günther's pipehorse DD logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Eastern Indian Ocean
Loren Mariani, iNaturalist S. robustus
McCulloch, 1911		 Robust pipehorse LC logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Eastern Indian Ocean
lachlan_fetterplace, iNaturalist S. spinosissimus
(Günther, 1870)		 Spiny pipehorse DD logo_wikilogo_eolGBIFurl Southwest Pacific

IUCN Red List categories

Click here for a full explanation of IUCN Red List categories. A brief key is provided below.

EX EW CR EN VU NT LC DD NE
Extinct Extinct in
the Wild		 Critically
Endangered		 Endangered Vulnerable Near
Threatened		 Least
Concern		 Data
Deficient		 Not
Evaluated

A note on ‘Data Deficient’ species: Species that are assessed as Data Deficient are deemed to have insufficient information known about them to carry out a proper conservation assessment. Although such species are not assessed as threatened, we may find out that they in fact are, once enough data is obtained.

[Page updated Jan 2016]