Schultz's Pipefish, Corythoichthys schultzi (Herald, 1953)

Introduction

Schultz's Pipefish has a whitish body that is covered in small black, brown and reddish dashes. The snout is long and slender and a caudal fin is present. Male and female Schultz's Pipefish are easy to tell apart when they are breeding. During breeding males have a pouch on the belly in which they carry the developing young (see top image). Males give birth to young pipefish that resemble adults.

Identification

Schultz's Pipefish has a whitish body that is covered in small black, brown and reddish dashes. The snout is long and slender and a caudal fin is present.

Male and female Schultz's Pipefish are easy to tell apart when they are breeding. During breeding males have a pouch on the belly in which they carry the developing young (see top image). Males give birth to young pipefish that resemble adults.

Habitat

Schultz's Pipefish is usually seen on rocky and rubbly substrates close to coral reefs. It is also seen around sea fans.

The species is found at depths from 1 m to 30 m.

Distribution

It occurs in tropical marine waters of the Indo-Pacific region, from the Red Sea, north to the Japan, throughout Micronesia, south to Australia and east to Tonga.

In Australia Schultz's Pipefish is known from the offshore islands of north-western Western Australia and the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland.

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. Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. parts 1-3, pages 1-2178.