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Girdled Pipefish
Festucalex cinctus (Ramsay, 1882)
A Girdled Pipefish at a depth of 8 m the Pipeline, Port Stephens, New South Wales, October, 2007. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
A Girdled Pipefish at a depth of 8 m the Pipeline, Port Stephens, New South Wales, October, 2007. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
A yellow Girdled Pipefish at a depth of 10 m the Pipeline, Port Stephens, New South Wales, October, 2007.. Photo © D. & L. Atkinson. View larger image.
The Girdled Pipefish can be recognised by its broad head, slender snout and leafy appendages on the dorsal ridges. It is variable in colour, usually a dark grey, or orange-brown with pale bars across the back. Occasionally pale or black individuals are seen.
The species grows to 16 cm in length.
It is endemic to Australia, occurring in inshore waters of the Northern Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.
It is usually found in sheltered coastal bays, often on patches of rubble, sand or in sparse algal growth in depths of 10 m to 20 m. It has also been caught in deeper water by trawlers.
The Girdled Pipefish was described in 1882 by Australian Museum Director and ichthyologist Edward Pierson Ramsay.
Three species of Festucalex are known from Australian waters. The other two are Gibb's Pipefish, F. gibbsi, which occurs off north-eastern Queensland, and the Ladder Pipefish, F. scalaris, which occurs off south-western Western Australia.
Related links
- View the family Syngnathidae list
- View the Pipefishes and Pipehorses list
Further reading
- Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House Press. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Syngnathiformes. TMC Publishing Pp. 240.
