Syngnathus Explained

Syngnathus is a genus of fish in the family Syngnathidae found in marine, brackish and sometimes fresh waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean.^[1] Fossils of these species are found from the Oligocene to the Pleistocene. They are known from various localities of Greece, Italy, Germany and United States.^[2]

Species

There are currently 36 recognized species in this genus:

• Syngnathus abaster A. Risso, 1827 (Black-striped pipefish)
• Syngnathus acus Linnaeus, 1758 (Greater pipefish)
• Syngnathus affinis Eichwald, 1831
• Syngnathus auliscus (Swain, 1882) (Barred pipefish)
• Syngnathus californiensis D. H. Storer, 1845 (Kelp pipefish)
• Syngnathus caribbaeus C. E. Dawson, 1979 (Caribbean pipefish)
• Syngnathus carinatus (C. H. Gilbert, 1892)
• Syngnathus caspius Eichwald, 1831
• Syngnathus chihiroe Matsunuma, 2017 ^[3]
• Syngnathus dawsoni (Herald, 1969)
• Syngnathus exilis (R. C. Osburn & Nichols, 1916) (Bar-cheek pipefish)
• Syngnathus floridae (D. S. Jordan & C. H. Gilbert, 1882) (Dusky pipefish)
• Syngnathus folletti Herald, 1942
• Syngnathus fuscus D. H. Storer, 1839 (Northern pipefish)
• Syngnathus leptorhynchus Girard, 1854 (Bay pipefish)
• Syngnathus louisianae Günther, 1870 (Chain pipefish)
• Syngnathus macrophthalmus Duncker, 1915
• Syngnathus makaxi Herald & C. E. Dawson, 1972 (Yucatán pipefish)
• Syngnathus pelagicus Linnaeus, 1758 (Sargassum pipefish)
• Syngnathus phlegon A. Risso, 1827
• Syngnathus rostellatus Nilsson, 1855 (Nilsson's pipefish)
• Syngnathus safina Paulus, 1992
• Syngnathus schlegeli Kaup, 1856 (Seaweed pipefish)
• Syngnathus schmidti A. M. Popov, 1928
• Syngnathus scovelli (Evermann & Kendall, 1896) (Gulf pipefish)
• Syngnathus springeri Herald, 1942 (Bull pipefish)
• Syngnathus taenionotus Canestrini, 1871
• Syngnathus temminckii Kaup, 1856 (Long-snout pipefish) ^[4]
• Syngnathus tenuirostris Rathke, 1836 (Narrow-snouted pipefish)
• Syngnathus typhle Linnaeus, 1758 (Broad-nosed pipefish)
• Syngnathus variegatus Pallas, 1814
• Syngnathus watermeyeri J. L. B. Smith, 1963 (Estuarine pipefish)

Notes and References

1. Fritzsche, R.A. 1980. A revisionary study of the eastern Pacific Syngnathidae (Pisces: Syngnathiformes), including both recent and fossil forms. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 42(6): 181-227.
2. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=35878 Paleobiology Database: Fossilworks: Syngnathus Linnaeus, 1758.
3. Matsunuma, M. (2017): Syngnathus chihiroe, a new species of pipefish (Syngnathidae) from southern Japan. Zootaxa, 4232 (3): 385-396.
4. Mwale, M., Kaiser, H., Barker, N.P., Wilson, A.B. & Teske, P.R. (2013): Identification of a uniquely southern African clade of coastal pipefishes Syngnathus spp. Journal of Fish Biology, 82 (6): 2045–2062.