Species: Syngnathus pelagicus, Sargassum Pipefish

Syngnathus pelagicus Linnaeus, 1758

Sargassum Pipefish

Snout long [56 (42-63)% of head length] and slender (depth 9-29% of length); a 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, only on front 1/3 of opercle in adults; body and front part of tail long and slender; dorsal fin 25-34, fin origin on trunk, well before anus; anal fin 2-4; pectoral fin 12-16; no pelvic fins; tail fin 10; main body ridges low, edges granular or finely toothed, barely indented at ring margins; 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 15-18; tail rings 30-34; no skin flaps; brood pouch under tail, its plates folded inwards.

Upper half pale tan, lower half whitish; males and subadult females with upper back of body crossed by 11-13 brown bars, each 1-3 rings wide; female with a pale to silvery, dark-edged bar on lower half of each trunk ring and wider pale bars on most tail rings, every 3rd-4th bar crossing top of back; usually a brown stripe along side of snout; dorsal fin with 7-9 brown bars; pectorals clear, tail brown.

Reaches 21 cm.

Floating Sargassum in the open sea, rarely inshore.

Depth: 0-73 m.

Nova Scotia to Brazil.