Corythoichthys Haematopterus
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The messmate pipefish (''Corythoichthys haematopterus'') 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 marine
fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
in 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 The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons ('' Phycodurus'' and '' Phyllopteryx''). The name is derived from (), meaning "together", and (), meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the traits that ...
. It is widespread throughout the
tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
waters of the
Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
region, from the eastern coast of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
to the Vanuatu Islands. This species can reach a length of 19.8 cm. It occasionally makes its way into the
aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
trade where it is known as the dragonfaced pipefish.Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Reef Aquariums: Dragonface Pipefish
Liveaquaria.com. Retrieved on 2016-12-06. Other
common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...
s are bloodspot pipefish, reef pipefish, reeftop pipefish and yellow-streaked pipefish. The messmate pipefish exhibits
biofluorescence Biofluorescence is fluorescence exhibited by a living organism: part of the organism absorbs light or other radiation at one wavelength and emits visible light at another, usually longer. The absorbed radiation is often blue or ultraviolet, while t ...
, that is, when illuminated by blue or ultraviolet light, it re-emits it as yellow, and appears differently than under white light illumination. Biofluorescence may assist in intraspecific communication and camouflage.


References


External links

*http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=217991 * Corythoichthys Fish described in 1851 {{Syngnathiformes-stub