Festucalex erythraeus
| Red pipefish | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Syngnathiformes |
| Family: | Syngnathidae |
| Genus: | Festucalex |
| Species: | F. erythraeus |
| Binomial name | |
| Festucalex erythraeus Gilbert, 1905 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
The red pipefish (Festucalex erythraeus) is a species of marine pipefish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found throughout the Indo-Pacific, from Mozambique and South Africa to Hawaii, Honshu (Japan), and New Caledonia.[1] It lives among rubble and coral or rocky reefs at depths of 18–40 metres (59–131 ft), where they can grow to lengths of 10 centimetres (3.9 in).[2] They are expected to feed on small crustaceans, such as gammarid shrimps, mysids, and harpacticoid copepods.[1] This species is ovoviviparous, with males brooding eggs and giving birth to live young. Males may brood at lengths of around 5.5 centimetres (2.2 in).[2] It is exported from Hawaii as part of the aquarium trade.[3]
Festucalex amakusensis and Festucalex townsendi which some authorities consider to be synonyms of F. erythraeus are considered by other authorities to be valid species.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 Manning, C. & Pollom, R. (2017). "Festucalex erythraeus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T65367204A67624718. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- 1 2 Dawson, C.E. (1985). Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA.
- 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2018). "Festucalex erythraeus" in FishBase. February 2018 version.
Further reading