Species
ghost pipefishes
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassTeleostei
- OrderSyngnathiformes
- FamilySolenostomidae
Habitatmarine
Observations recorded3,363
The ghost pipefishes (family Solenostomidae) are skin-brooding fishes related to the true pipefishes and seahorses (family Syngnathidae) (skin-brooding involves the attachment of developing eggs to the body surface of a parent). They are found only in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, inhabiting shallow tropical waters associated with rocky crystalline reefs and vegetation. Unlike syngnathids, in which males brood the eggs, ghost pipefish embryos develop within a brood sac formed by the pelvic fins of the female. Wetzel and Wourms (1995) review the anatomy, physiology, and evolution of solenostomid reproductive behavior. According to Kawahara et al. (2008), evidence from phylogenetic analysis of whole mitochondrial genomes indicates that the Solenomostidae form the sister group to Syngnathidae, with the sea moths (family Pegasidae) sister to this pair of lineages. The family Solenostomidae includes a single genus (Solenostomus) with four or five currently recognized species: S. paradoxus, S. armatus, S. cyanopterus, S. halimeda, and possibly S. leptosoma (Orr et al. 2002; Nelson 2006). The distribution of the genus ranges from the Red Sea and South Africa east to the Maldives, Indones