Species: Cosmocampus elucens, Shortfin pipefish
body slender
D 22-23
A 2-4
Cosmocampus elucens (Poey, 1868)
Shortfin pipefish
Body slender and elongate; snout with ridge along side, long (~40-59% of head length) and slender, depth 16 (10-26)% of its length), ridge along top very low; operculum with longitudinal ridge angled up towards gill opening; dorsal 22-23 rays; anal 2-4 rays; pectoral 11-15 rays; no pelvic fins; tail 10 rays; upper trunk and tail ridges not joined; ridge on flank of body straight, ends near anus; lower trunk and tail ridges joined; main body ridges sometimes with spines at end of rings; usually with skin flaps; trunk rings 16-18; 0-1.5 trunk rings under dorsal fin; tail rings 29-34; brood pouch under tail rings 12-20, with folds.
Tan to greenish brown; upper body and sides usually mottled, with widely spaced narrow pale bars; 2 dark stripes behind eye.
Reaches 17 cm.
Usually in seagrass beds, but also coral reefs and estuaries.
Depth range: 1-78 m.
New Jersey to Guyana
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Brackish
- Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Estuary
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Submerged vegetation
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Corals
- FishBase Habitat
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- Reef Associated
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Data
- Diet
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- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Live birth
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- All species
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- All species
- Continent + Island (s)
- Continental primarily
- Extends North of GC
- Island (s)
- Extends South of GC
- Continent
- GC non-endemic
- Extends N + S of GC
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Temperate (>35N)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 17
- Depth Range Min
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- 1
- Depth Range Max
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- 78
