Northern Pipefish

Syngnathus fuscus

Pipefishes and seahorses are among the strangest-looking fishes in the ocean. Their bodies are encased in bony rings, and they have tiny mouths at the end of long faces. The Northern Pipefish, like the other fishes in this family, carries its eggs in special pouches on the lower part of the body until they hatch. The female deposits the eggs in the male's pouch, where they are fertilized and carried for roughly ten days. Seahorses are closely related to pipefishes, but instead of a tail fin, they have a fingerlike tail which they use to hold on to vegetation and other underwater surfaces.

Look For : A pipefish with a slender, stiff body encircled with bony rings. Small tail fin. Snout long and slender.

Length : 11".

Habitat : Salt or brackish water.

Range : Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida.