''Leptoichthys fistularius'', the brush-tailed pipefish, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of pipefish of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Syngnathidae, found in shallow to intermediate depths off the coast of southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, usually in

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine (ocean), marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four Family (biology), families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and ...

beds. This species is the largest known species of pipefish, growing to a maximum of in length. Like other pipefishes, the male carries the fertilized eggs in a pouch under his tail until they hatch. The genus name comes from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''leptos'' meaning "thin" and ''ichthys'' meaning "fish", the specific name refers to the resemblance of the head of this species to that of the fluteheads or cornetfishes of the family Fistulariidae.

References

Syngnathidae Marine fish of Southern Australia Fish described in 1853 {{Syngnathiformes-stub