Ghost Pipefish

ID points

• Body covered in fringed skin flaps, looking like floating debris
• Tube-shaped snout, hovers head down
• In females the pelvic fins are modified into a brood pouch

Basics

Family

Solenostomidae

Length

8–15 cm

Depth

1-25 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs

Distribution

Shallow tropical Indo-Pacific seagrass beds and around feather stars

Habitat

Seagrass beds and feather stars

Diet

Small crustaceans

Easily confused with

Firefish GobyFront half creamy white, shading to orange-red at the rearLongnose HawkfishRed grid pattern on white, like checked clothOarfishSilvery white ribbon-like body, extremely long and flattened

Fun fact

The ghost pipefish is only about 12 cm long and is covered in leafy skin flaps that let it mimic a drifting scrap of seagrass almost perfectly. Unlike most fish, it is the female that broods the eggs, in a pouch formed from her fused pelvic fins, which is exactly the opposite of the seahorses.