Species: Microphis lineatus, Opossum pipefish
A 4
Microphis lineatus (Kaup, 1856)
Opossum pipefish
Head long (15-22% of SL), without spines; snout very long (50-67% of head length), slender (~ 11% of snout length), straight; mouth strongly oblique, rising above tip of snout; well developed horizontal ridge across center of operculum, with several oblique ridges below it; dorsal fin long based, 37-54 rays, origin on trunk; pectoral broad base, short fin, central rays shorter than outer rays, 17-23 rays; anal fin tiny, 4 rays; no pelvic fins; tail fin small, 9 rays; ridges along upper side of body and of tail not joined; ridge on midside of body joins ridge on lower side of tail; lower body ridge ends at level of anus, ridges spiny in juveniles, +/- small spines in adults; trunk rings 17-21, tail with 20-26 rings; oval plates between body rings without longitudinal keels; brood pouch under trunk, with vertical plates that are not folded.
Brownish grey; a dark stripe along snout, through eye, across operculum and along upper back to dorsal fin; dorsal fin with brown vertical streaks between rays; tail fin blackish.
Size: 19.5 cm.
Habitat: estuaries and freshwater.
Depth: shallow 0-10 m.
West Atlantic; Northern US to southern Brazil; has passed through the Panama Canal to the tropical eastern Pacific, where it occurs in Panama and Costa Rica.
High Resolution Map Download
- Salinity
-
- Brackish
- Freshwater
- Non Marine
- Inshore/Offshore
-
- Inshore Only
- Inshore
- Water Column Position
-
- Bottom
- Bottom only
- Habitat
-
- Estuary
- Mangrove
- Submerged vegetation
- Soft bottom only
- Freshwater
- Soft bottom (mud/sand/gravel/beach/estuary/mangrove/seagrass)
- FishBase Habitat
-
- Demersal
- Feeding Group
-
- Planktivore
- Data
- Carnivore
- Diet
-
- Data
- Zooplankton
- Mobile benthic crustacea (shrimps/crabs)
- Mobile benthic worms
- Egg Type
-
- Data
- Live birth
- Pelagic larva
- Global Endemism
-
- Greater Caribbean non-endemic
- West Atlantic Endemic
- All species.
- Regional Endemism
-
- Extends N + S of GC
- GC non-endemic
- Continent
- Extends North of GC
- Island (s)
- Extends South of GC
- Continent + Island (s)
- Also in Brazil
- All species..
- Residency
-
- Resident
- Climate Zone
-
- Equatorial (0-10N, Costa Rica / Venezuela)
- Subtropical (23-35N, Florida / Carolinas / Bermuda)
- Tropical (10-23N, Nicaragua / Cuba)
- Temperate (>35N)
- IUCN Red List
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- Data deficient
- Listed
- CITES
-
- Not listed
- Depth Range Min
-
- 0
- Depth Range Max
-
- 10
- Length Max
-
- 19.5
