Flagtail pipefish

Doryrhamphus and Dunckerocampus, popularly known as flagtail pipefish,[1] are two genera of fishes in the family Syngnathidae. They are found in warm, relatively shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, with a single species, D. paulus, in the eastern Pacific.[2] Most of these pipefishes are very colourful, and are fairly popular in the marine aquarium hobby despite requiring special care and not being recommended for beginners.[1][3]

Doryrhamphus
Dunckerocampus
Doryrhamphus japonicus
Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Actinopterygii
Order:
Syngnathiformes
Family:
Syngnathidae
Subfamily:
Syngnathinae
Genera

Doryrhamphus
Dunckerocampus

Their habit of flashing the distinctly patterned tails during courtship and other displays have earned them their English popular name.[1] Adults are highly territorial and usually live in pairs.[1][3] They feed on tiny crustaceans and other small animals, and most species from the genus Doryrhamphus will sometimes act as cleaners.[3]

Description

Doryrhamphus have a maximum length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in) or less, with D. janssi being the only species that surpasses 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in).[2][4] Most species have a horizontal blue line along their body, and all have a whitish-edged tail that is marked contrastingly with black, red or yellow.[2][4]

Dunckerocampus are more elongated and have a maximum length between 10 and 20 centimetres (3.9 and 7.9 in), with D. chapmani being the only species with a maximum length below 15 centimetres (5.9 in).[2][4] Their tail is red with a whitish edge, and in some species there is a white or yellow spot in the center.[2][4] All except D. baldwini (and a similar, but possibly undescribed species from the eastern Indian Ocean) have vertical red/brown and yellow/white stripes on their body.[2][4]

Taxonomy

Considerable taxonomic confusion exists in these genera, both because a number of scientifically undescribed species remain and some of the already described species are variable.[2][5]

The first to recognise the species now placed in Dunckerocampus as worthy of a separate genus was the German ichthyologist George Duncker, and for this reason he coined Acanthognathus in 1912.[6] However, unbeknown to him that name was preoccupied by a genus of ants.[7][8] The replacement name Dunckerocampus honours Duncker.[9]

Following a review in 1985, Dunckerocampus was generally considered a subgenus of Doryrhamphus,[10] but in 1998 it was recommended that Dunckerocampus again should be a genus, and in addition to the species formerly placed in it, it should include the newly described D. boylei.[11] When described in 2004, D. naia was also placed in this genus.[12] Recent authorities generally recognise Doryrhamphus and Dunckerocampus as separate genera.[5][13][14][15]

Species

Species and genera follow most recent reviews of this group.[5][13][14][15]

References
  1. Weiss, T. (2005). Flagtail Pipefish In The Home Aquarium. Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine Fusedjaw
  2. Kuiter, R. H. (2003). Seahorses, Pipefishes, and their relatives. 2nd edition. TMC Publishing. Chorleywood. ISBN 0-9539097-4-3
  3. Schultz III, H. C. (2003). There's More to Pipes Than Just PVC: The Genus Doryrhamphus and Other Pipefish. Reefkeeping
  4. Kuiter R. H., & H. Debelius (2007). World Atlas of Marine Fishes. 2nd edition. IKAN Unterwasserarchiv. ISBN 978-3-925919-77-0.
  5. Kuiter, R. H. (2009). Seahorses and their relatives. Aquatic Photographics, Seaford, Australia. ISBN 978-0-9775372-1-1
  6. Duncker, G. (1912). Die Gattungen der Syngnathidae. Mitteilungen Naturhist. Museum Hamburg 29: 219-240.
  7. Mayr, G. (1887). Südamerikanische Formiciden. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 37: 511-632.
  8. Ride, W.D.L, H.G. Cogger, C. Dupuis, O. Kraus, A. Minelli, F. C. Thompson & P.K. Tubbs, eds. (1999). International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 4th edition. International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. ISBN 0-85301-006-4
  9. Whitley, G. P. (1933). Studies in ichthyology. No. 7. Records of the Australian Museum v. 19 (1): 60-112, Pls. 11-15.
  10. Dawson, C. E. (1985). Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). Gulf Coast Research Lab., Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). i-vi + 1-230.
  11. Kuiter, R. H. (1998). Pipefishes of the syngnathid genus Dunckerocampus (Sygnathiformes: Syngnathidae), with a description of a new species from the Indian Ocean. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 3(2): 81-84.
  12. Allen, G. R., & R. H. Kuiter. (2004). Dunckerocampus naia, a new species of pipefish (Pisces: Syngnathidae) from the western Pacific. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 9(1): 1-6.
  13. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). Species of Doryrhamphus in FishBase. September 2012 version.
  14. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). Species of Dunckerocampus in FishBase. September 2012 version.
  15. Eschmeyer, W.N., & R. Fricke, eds. (2012). Catalog of Fishes. Archived 2012-08-24 at the Wayback Machine Online version, 19 September 2012.
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