Flagtail pipefish (Doryrhamphus excisus)
Key facts
- Scientific name
- Doryrhamphus excisus
- Common name
- Flagtail pipefish
- Category
- Fish
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Genus
- Doryrhamphus
- Size
- 5–8 cm
- Depth
- 1–30 m
- IUCN status
- Least concern (LC)
- Danger level
- Harmless
- Habitats
- coral-reef, cave
- Behaviours
- pair, cleaner
- Ocean zones
- Asian Pacific, Caribbean, Eastern Pacific, Indian Ocean & Red Sea
Description
Doryrhamphus excisus reaches 8 cm. Small Indo-Pacific pipefish with bright blue-purple elongated thin body with red-yellow-orange tail forming characteristic flame (hence flagtail pipefish). Lives in pairs in caves, overhangs and under coralligenous from 1 to 30 m on coral reefs of Indo-Pacific. Documented cleaner behavior: cleans parasites from small client fish in caves. Male gestator. Macro photo subject of cave dives for vivid colors contrasting with shadow.
Photo of Flagtail pipefish
Frequently asked questions
- How big is the Flagtail pipefish?
- Flagtail pipefish (Doryrhamphus excisus) reaches 5–8 cm in length.
- At what depth can you find the Flagtail pipefish?
- Flagtail pipefish is found between 1–30 m deep.
- Is the Flagtail pipefish dangerous to divers?
- Danger level: Harmless.
- What is the conservation status of the Flagtail pipefish?
- IUCN status: Least concern (LC).
- Where can you find the Flagtail pipefish?
- Found in: Asian Pacific, Caribbean, Eastern Pacific, Indian Ocean & Red Sea.
Other species in the family Syngnathidae
- Hippocampus guttulatus - Long-snouted seahorse
- Hippocampus pontohi - Pontoh's pygmy seahorse
- Hippocampus denise - Denise's pygmy seahorse
- Hippocampus severnsi - Severns' pygmy seahorse
- Hippocampus hippocampus - Short-snouted seahorse
- Corythoichthys flavofasciatus - Yellow-banded pipefish
Sources
- Taxonomy: WoRMS (AphiaID 218002)
- Photos: iNaturalist (CC BY-NC)
- Distribution: GBIF (taxonKey 4286276)
- Conservation: IUCN Red List
- Encyclopedia: Wikipedia