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Hippichthys spicifer (Rüppell, 1838)

Bellybarred pipefish
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Hippichthys spicifer   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Hippichthys spicifer (Bellybarred pipefish)
Hippichthys spicifer
Picture by Randall, J.E.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Syngnathiformes (Pipefishes and seahorses) > Syngnathidae (Pipefishes and seahorses) > Syngnathinae
Etymology: Hippichthys: Greek, ippos = horse + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Rüppell.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; pH range: 7.5 - 8.2; dH range: 20 - 30; amphidromous (Ref. 59012); depth range 0 - 3 m (Ref. 86942). Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 12468); 33°N - 15°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Sri Lanka and Samoa (Ref. 4127). Recorded upstream in freshwater of the Mekong, but this record may represent another species of this genus or another genus among the 15 genera of pipefishes expected in Mekong estuary and plume (Ref. 12693).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 10 - ? cm
Max length : 18.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 12693)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25 - 30. Brownish, mottled or with prominent dark bars crossing lower half of side and venter of trunk; bars absent or obscured by dark ground color in some adults; dorsal rays without rows of distinct brown spots (Ref. 4281).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Adults occur in shallow coastal and estuarine waters, sometimes among mangroves. Also found regularly in freshwater in the lower reaches of rivers (Ref. 4967, 44894) and tidal creeks (Ref. 44894). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205). The male carries the eggs in a brood pouch which is found under the tail (Ref. 205). Males maybe brooding at about 9.8 SL.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Male carries the eggs in a brood pouch (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Dawson, C.E., 1985. Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA. (Ref. 5316)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 28 June 2016

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 26.7 - 29.3, mean 28.7 °C (based on 2181 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5156   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00037 (0.00016 - 0.00085), b=3.18 (2.99 - 3.37), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.4   ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).