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Little Pipehorse
Idiotropiscis australe (Waite & Hale, 1921)
All images: A Little Pipehorse at a depth of 5 m, Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia, June 2007. Photo © C. Harmer. View larger image.
The head of the Little Pipehorse is roughly in line with the long axis of the body. The body may have many branching dermal flaps. The colouration of each individual probably matches its algal environment.
Very little is known of the species because few species have been collected or photographed.
It grows to about 6 cm in length.
The species is endemic to Australia, occurring in coastal waters. It has been photographed in shallow waters and dredged from an unknown depth in Western Australia.
The species has also been called the Southern Little Pipehorse and Southern Pygmy Pipehorse.
Related links
- Sydney's Pygmy Pipehorse fact sheet
- View the Pipefishes and Pipehorses list
- View the Family Syngnathidae list
Further reading
- Dawson, C.E. Family Sygnathidae. in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & R.H. Kuiter (Eds). 1994. The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. State Print, Adelaide. Pp. 992.
- 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.
- Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Syngnathiformes. TMC Publishing Pp. 240.
