Species: Syngnathus fuscus, Northern pipefish

trunk rings 18-21

Syngnathus fuscus Storer, 1839
Northern pipefish
Head short; snout moderately long, and moderately slender; narrow bar of bone in front of eye; no ridge above operculum, or along side of snout; ridges along top of snout and head low; opercular ridge inconspicuous, only on front 1/3 of opercle in adults; body and front part of tail slender; dorsal fin 33-39, fin origin on trunk, well before anus; anal fin 2-4; pectoral fin 12-15; no pelvic fins; tail fin 10; main body ridges without indentations at ring edges; ridge along side of body ends under dorsal fin, not joining that along side of tail; upper ridge of body discontinuous with that of tail just behind dorsal fin; ridges along bottom of body and tail joined; trunk rings 18-21; tail rings 34-39; no skin flaps; brood pouch under tail, its plates folded inwards.
Variable color: greenish, olive, brown, red-brown on upper parts; belly pale to yellow; trunk and tail mottled or with ~12-13 brown bars, sometimes with pale bars on lower sides of each trunk ring; dorsal fin pale or with diagonal bars; tail fin brown.
Reaches 33 cm.
Sandy bottoms and seagrass beds, estuarine habitats; enters freshwater.
Depth: 5-366 m.
Prince Edward Island (Canada) to southern Florida.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Brackish
- Freshwater
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Habitat
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- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Sand & gravel
- Submerged vegetation
- Estuary
- Soft bottom only
- Freshwater
- FishBase Habitat
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- Demersal
- Feeding Group
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- Carnivore
- Planktivore
- Data
- Diet
-
- Zooplankton
- Data
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Egg Type
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- Data
- Live birth
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
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- West Atlantic Endemic
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
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- All species..
- Continent only
- GC non-endemic
- Continent
- Extends North of GC
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Least concern
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 33
- Depth Range Min
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- 5
- Depth Range Max
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- 366