Dr. Glen Whisson, Aqua Research and Monitoring Services, Australien
Info
Choeroichthys suillus is a small, shy pipefish that often hides among coral debris.
The pipefish varies in color from brownish, light brown, or yellow to almost black with irregular light spots on the sides and back.
A light and dark pattern can be seen on the snout, chin, and throat, and a dark brown stripe runs through the eye.
A row of reddish spots can be seen along the front of the top of the pipefish.
Three pairs of light spots are distributed across the back, and the brood pouch has a dark wavy edge above a light border.
The front two-thirds of the tail fin are dark brown, the rear third is yellowish, and the remaining fins are light yellowish.
Little is known about the ecology of this species, but it is likely that, like other Syngnathidae in this region, it feeds on copepods, gammarids, and mysids. Pipefish are ovoviviparous, and the males incubate the young in a pouch under their trunk until they are born alive, similar to seahorses.
Etymology: The genus name “Choeroichthys” comes from Greek, where “choiros” means pig, and the ending “ichthys” also comes from Greek and means fish.
The species name ‘suillus’ comes from the Latin word “sus” and means pig, probably referring to the needlefish's snout.
We would like to thank Dr. Glen Whisson for his perfect photo!
Comment from Dr. Gerry Allen:
Choeroichthys suillus was excluded from coverage in RFEI because it is an Australian species that as far as I know has not been reliably reported from the East Indian region of coverage in our book. It supposedly occurs at S. New Guinea, but I have not been able to verify this record with either specimens or photos.
Cheers, Gerry
The pipefish varies in color from brownish, light brown, or yellow to almost black with irregular light spots on the sides and back.
A light and dark pattern can be seen on the snout, chin, and throat, and a dark brown stripe runs through the eye.
A row of reddish spots can be seen along the front of the top of the pipefish.
Three pairs of light spots are distributed across the back, and the brood pouch has a dark wavy edge above a light border.
The front two-thirds of the tail fin are dark brown, the rear third is yellowish, and the remaining fins are light yellowish.
Little is known about the ecology of this species, but it is likely that, like other Syngnathidae in this region, it feeds on copepods, gammarids, and mysids. Pipefish are ovoviviparous, and the males incubate the young in a pouch under their trunk until they are born alive, similar to seahorses.
Etymology: The genus name “Choeroichthys” comes from Greek, where “choiros” means pig, and the ending “ichthys” also comes from Greek and means fish.
The species name ‘suillus’ comes from the Latin word “sus” and means pig, probably referring to the needlefish's snout.
We would like to thank Dr. Glen Whisson for his perfect photo!
Comment from Dr. Gerry Allen:
Choeroichthys suillus was excluded from coverage in RFEI because it is an Australian species that as far as I know has not been reliably reported from the East Indian region of coverage in our book. It supposedly occurs at S. New Guinea, but I have not been able to verify this record with either specimens or photos.
Cheers, Gerry
