''Cosmocampus elucens'' (shortfin pipefish, or Poey's pipefish) is a species of marine fish of the family
Syngnathidae. It is found in the western Atlantic, off the U.S. east coast,
Bermuda, the
Bahamas, the
Gulf of Mexico, throughout the
Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of Brazil.
It lives in
seagrass and
algae
Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
beds, typically at shallow depths (although it has been found at depths up to ), where it can grow to lengths of .
[Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. p.354] It is expected to feed on small
crustaceans, similar to other
pipefishes
Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and ''Phyllopteryx''), form the family Syngnathidae.
Description
Pipefish look like straight-bodied seah ...
.
[ This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs and giving birth to live young.][
]
Identifying features
This species can be identified by its slender body, tan to greenish brown colouring, mottled upper body and sides, widely spaced pale bars along its trunk, and pair of dark stripes behind its eyes.
References
Further reading
Florent’s Guide To The Tropical ReefsiNaturalist
External links
*
elucens
Marine fish
Taxa named by Felipe Poey
Fish described in 1868
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