Greater pipefish
Syngnathus acus
Special features
The name speaks for itself: with a body length of up to half a meter, the title of the longest needle-shaped fish in the entire Mediterranean is well earned.
Appearance
As her name suggests, her body appears long and thin with a tubular snout.
It is patterned with alternating light beige and dark brown wide bars and has only very small fins, of which the caudal fin is shaped like a fan.
Rows of bone plates run under her skin, which give her a somewhat angular-looking contour.
Natural enemies
Common squid (Sepia officinalis)
Dangerous/Venomous
The Greater pipefish is neither dangerous nor venomous.
Sketch
1. Tubular snout
2. Angular-looking outline
3. Beige and dark brown stripes
4. Fan-like caudal fin
Pro tips
Greater pipefish usually hide in seagrass and disguise themselves from their attackers as if they were plants or algae themselves.
With their tubular snout, they suck up floating shrimps, copepods, and flea crabs.
During mating season, their behavior is similar to their relatives: seahorses.
Female Greater pipefish lay their eggs in the brood pocket under the tail fin of the males.
The male then fertilizes the eggs and incubates them for 5 weeks.
Text: Carolina Leiter, Felician Hosp, Pia Balaka
Pic: Felician Hosp
Illustration: Dive Dict
