Genus: Microphis, Freshwater Pipefish, Pipefishes
snout very long, slender
D 37-54
C 9
operculum: several ridges
lower body & tail ridges NOT joined
A 4
A 4
brood pouch under body
MICROPHIS
PIPEFISHES
Snout long & slender, a low ridge all along center; operculum with several ridges; dorsal 25-74 rays, origin on trunk; anal fin usually 4 rays; no pelvic fins; tail 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; trunk rings 15-22, total rings 39-55; oval plates on side of body without longitudinal keels; male brood pouch under trunk, with vertical plates, no folds.
A circumtropical genus, with 18 species. One west Atlantic species, our area, which has passed through the Panama Canal to the tropical eastern Pacific.
