Doryrhamphus

A Honshu pipefish ( Doryrhamphus japonicus ) swimming with belly up, getting close to the substrate.

Doryrhamphus is a pipefish genus, which occurs in the Red Sea in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific from southern Japan to New Guinea and Queensland.

Features

Doryrhamphus types of 3,5 and 14 cm long. They are usually reddish or reddish-brown color and have a vertical blue stripe that extends from the tip of the snout over the eyes and the sides of the body to the caudal fin base. The large, round or fan-shaped tail fins are each patterned with a species-specific, eye-catching design.

Way of life

Doryrhamphus species live in coral reefs and are free-swimming fish, but remain always close to caves or crevices. The ventral side is always facing the next solid surface, a Doryrhamphus instance that moves on a cave ceiling along, so go with the belly up. Doryrhamphus species feed mainly on small crustaceans such as copepods and some species are also active as a cleaner and clean the larger fish of parasitic crustaceans.

Doryrhamphus species live as adult fish in pairs usually. After the mating season the males take the eggs from the female, to carry them to the sponge-like changes in ventral side. The about 50 to 200 eggs lying there half open and are not protected by lateral skin flaps. The fry seem to have no or only to live through a short pelagic stage.

Species

There are nine described species. Kuiter specifies three more, previously undescribed species of the genus.

  • Doryrhamphus aurolineatus Randall & Earle, 1994; 3.5 cm; Arabian Sea.
  • Double chin pipefish ( Doryrhamphus bicarinatus ) Dawson, 1981; 8 cm; Indian Ocean, South and East Africa to the Andaman Islands.
  • Blue stripe pipefish ( Doryrhamphus excisus ) Kaup, 1856; 6.5 cm; Red Sea, western Indian Ocean.
  • Cleaner pipefish ( Doryrhamphus janssi ) ( Herald & Randall, 1972); 14 cm, Philippines to northern Australia, Christmas Island and Andaman Sea.
  • Honshu pipefish ( Doryrhamphus japonicus ) Araga & Yoshino, 1975; 8.5 cm, Southern Japan to Indonesia and New Guinea.
  • Doryrhamphus malus ( Whitley, 1954)
  • Doryrhamphus melanopleura ( Bleeker 1858)
  • Flag tail pipefish ( Doryrhamphus negro sensis ) Herre, 1934; 5.5 cm; Philippines, Micronesia to the north of New Guinea.
  • Doryrhamphus paul Fritzsche, 1980

System

Doryrhamphus is the namesake genus of the subfamily of the flag tail pipefish ( Doryrhamphinae ) associated with the snake needles ( Nerophinae ) form the taxon Gastrophori, so that pipefish, where the breeding zone of males is under the abdomen in front of the anus. Dunckerocampus was originally regarded as a subgenus of Doryrhamphus, but is now regarded as a separate genus.

Syngnathiformes Johann Jakob Kaup Syngnathidae
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