Duncker's Pipehorse, Solegnathus dunckeri Whitley, 1927

Introduction

Duncker's Pipehorse can be distinguished by the dark stripes along the upper ridges of the body. The species is endemic to eastern Australia.

Identification

Duncker's Pipehorse can be distinguished from the other Indo-Pacific species of Solegnathus by its body structure and colouration. The upper (superior) ridges of the body have dark stripes and are continuous with the ridges on the tail. The underside of the tail rings are dusky to black.

The species was described in 1927 by Australian Museum Fish Curator G.P. Whitley.

Habitat

Duncker's Pipehorse is usually seen washed up on beaches or trawled from marine waters at depths between 30 m and 140 m.

Distribution

It is endemic to eastern Australia, occurring from southern Queensland to the central New South Wales coast and Lord Howe Island.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums. Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

References

1. Allen, G.R., D.F. Hoese, J.R. Paxton, J.E. Randall, B.C. Russell, W.A. Starck, F.H. Talbot & GP Whitley. l976. An annotated checklist of the fishes of Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum, 30 (15):365-454.
2. Dawson, C.E. 1985. Indo-Pacific Pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory. Pp. 230.
3. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Syngnathiformes. TMC Publishing Pp. 240.