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Stick Pipefish
Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus (Bleeker, 1857)
A Stick Pipefish at a depth of 18m, Redang Island, off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, April 2001. View larger image.
The Stick Pipefish has a long snout and a head that projects at a slight angle to the body. Its colouration is variable from yellow to brown, red or black.
It grows to 40cm in length and feeds on zooplankton.
This species is sometimes observed with the anterior part of the fish raised above the substrate and the head facing into the current. The posterior part of the body and thickened ventral ray of the caudal fin (fin diagram) are used to anchor the fish in place.
The Stick Pipefish occurs in marine waters throughout much of the Indo-West Pacific.
In Australia it lives in bays and estuaries on sand or mud, from the shallows to at least 40m depth. It is known from the central coast of Western Australia, around the tropical north, and south to central New South Wales.
View a map of the collecting localities of specimens in the Australian Museum Fish Collection.
Further reading
- Dawson, C.E. 1985. Indo-Pacific Pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Pp. 230.
- Kuiter, R.H. 1996. Guide to Sea Fishes of Australia. New Holland. Pp. 433.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Coastal Fishes of South-eastern Australia. Gary Allen. Pp. 437.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Syngnathiformes. TMC Publishing Pp. 240.
- Paxton, J.R., D.F. Hoese, G.R. Allen & J.E. Hanley. 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Vol.7 Pisces Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Survey. Pp. i-xii, 1-665.
