Ghostpipefishes

by Georgina Jones in November 2011 - Marine Scene

Ghostpipefishes are the closest relatives pipefishes and seahorses have. They are small, somewhat eccentrically shaped animals, resembling pipefishes, albeit rather flam-boyant ones. The six species described so far in the family have all been classified in a single genus, Solenostomus, which have so far only been found in the Indo-West Pacific.

Ghostpipefishes differ from the pipefishes in having large, well developed fins, as well as having fins on their bellies and a second dorsal fin. Their ventral fins are used by the females for brooding their eggs, because unlike the pipefishes, ghostpipefish females are the egg brooders. They hold their belly fins together like hands, making a pouch for the eggs, with the upper edge of the fins hooking onto the small spines on their bellies.

The young are born as pelagic larvae, which in some species, look like seahorses. They may travel long distances before settling and assuming adult form. All species are very variable in both colour and body outgrowths, and may also differ between sexes in both shape and size.

Adult ghostpipefishes, like pipefishes, are poor swimmers. They tend to float nearly motionless, in a vertical, head-down position. Depending on the species, they may be found in seagrass beds, in gorgonians, or on sandy rubble. Like pipefishes, they usually feed on small crustaceans sucked into their long snouts. Though not very much is known of their life cycles, it is thought they are relatively short lived, with most species probably mating annually and dying after hatching their young.