Species: Micrognathus erugatus, Smooth Pipefish
head & body ~ smooth, ~ no ridges, rings indistinct & not notched

Micrognathus erugatus Herald & Dawson, 1974
Smooth Pipefish
Head and body almost smooth due to poor development of ridges; snout short; central snout ridge with several forward-pointing spines; other head ridges (sides of snout & head, top of nape) not visible; head with short, simple skin flaps above opercle and on ridges along top and mid-side of opercle; body and tail without skin flaps; opercle with 20+ rows of minute pock-mark depressions radiating from indistinct central ridge; exhalant gill opening extends to top of head; dorsal fin 18-20 rays; anal fin 2 rays; pectoral fin rays 10-13; no pelvic fins; tail fin typically 10; upper body and tail ridges interrupted near rear of dorsal fin; lower trunk ridge ends near anus; side trunk ridge joins lower tail ridge; trunk rings 17-20, total rings 56-71; body rings difficult to distinguish, without skin flaps; ridges of head, body and tail not prominent; body ridges with almost no notches between body rings, edges smooth; brood pouch under tail rings 10-17, pouch plates not very enlarged, pouch semi-open.
Grey-green to green to yellow-brown; body color variable: plain with green and white belly, to mottled with white anteriorly, and sometimes with white bars.
Reaches 11.7 cm.
Tide pools and shallow seagrass beds.
Depth range: 0.5-2 m.
Brazil and south-east Venezuela.

High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
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- Marine
- Marine Only
- Inshore/Offshore
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- Inshore
- Inshore Only
- Water Column Position
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- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
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- Rocks
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- Submerged vegetation
- Reef (rock/coral/oyster)
- Reef and soft bottom
- Reef associated (reef + edges-water column & soft bottom)
- 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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- All species
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- Regional Endemism
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- Also in Brazil
- Continent
- Continent only
- Extends South of GC
- GC non-endemic
- All species
- Residency
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- Resident
- Climate Zone
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- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- IUCN Red List
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- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
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- Not listed
- Length Max
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- 11.7
- Depth Range Min
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- 0
- Depth Range Max
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- 2