Trachyrhamphus longirostris (Slender pipefish)
The slender pipefish Trachyrhamphus longirostris has an eel-like body, thin and long. The body is mottled black to dark brown with thin white scribbling on the head, speckling on the entire body and diamond-shaped saddles. It usually lies straight on the bottom, as opposed to its relative T. bicoarctus.
Unassessed by the IUCN Red list. Although spread throughout the Indo-Pacific, it is not a very common sight. It is likely to be overlooked since they are well camouflaged on the sand and muddy bottoms they live on.
Found in the Red Sea, on the Eastern African coast and the Indian Ocean, bust mostly in the Asian Pacific, from Thailand and Malaysia to Micronesia, north from Japan and south to Australia. They prefer sand and muddy bottoms of sheltered lagoons and reefs, as well as estuaries, in a depth range of 16-91 meters.
Like the other members of the Syngnathidae, the males carry the eggs in a pouch under the tail. They are ovoviviparous, meaning that they give birth to a large number of live young after they hatch inside the pouch.
Up to 40 cm.
Slender pipefish use their elongated snout to suck up tiny crustaceans and other zooplankton.
Trachyrhamphus longirostris has a couple of other common names that are used regularly, such as straightstick pipefish, longsnouted pipefish and longnosed pipefish.
