The long-tailed ghost pipefish or armored ghost pipefish (''Solenostomus armatus'') is a

ghost pipefish ''Solenostomus'', also known as the ghost pipefishes, false pipefishes or tubemouth fishes, is a genus of fishes in the order Syngnathiformes. ''Solenostomus'' is the only genus in the family Solenostomidae, and includes six currently recognized ...

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 ...

Solenostomidae. The species name comes from the Greek ''armatura'', referring to this fish's armor of dermal plates.Orr and Fritzsche. 1993. Revision of the Ghost Pipefishes, Family Solenostomidae (Teleostei: Syngnathoidei).

Copeia ''Ichthyology & Herpetology'' (formerly ''Copeia'') is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in ichthyology and herpetology that was originally named after Edward Drinker Cope, a prominent American researcher in these fi ...

1993:168-182. ''Solenostomus leptosoma'' is now considered a synonym of ''S. armatus'', the valid species identification.

Physical appearance

''S. armatus'' reaches a maximum length of 5.7 cm (

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

) and vary in color from dark red to beige. Compared to other ghost pipefishes, they possess an elongated caudal tail and peduncle, as indicated by their common name.

Biology

The long-tailed ghost pipefish is a tropical marine species, found over muddy bottoms near reefs in the western

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Like all ghost pipefish, females carry the eggs in pelvic fins that become modified to form a brood pouch.

Conservation status

The IUCN conservation status of ''S. armatus'' is of least concern.

Physical appearance

Biology

Conservation status

References

Further reading