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flagtail pipefish

{{Short description|Subfamily of fishes}}

{{Paraphyletic group

| auto = yes

| image = NokogiriYJ4dot.jpg

| image_caption = Doryrhamphus japonicus

| image2 = Broadbanded Pipefish.jpg

| image2_caption = Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus

| parent = Syngnathinae

| includes_text = Genera

| includes =

Doryrhamphus

Dunckerocampus

}}

Doryrhamphus and Dunckerocampus, popularly known as flagtail pipefish,Weiss, T. (2005). [http://www.fusedjaw.com/aquariumcare/flagtail-pipefish-in-the-home-aquarium/ Flagtail Pipefish In The Home Aquarium.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006023948/http://www.fusedjaw.com/aquariumcare/flagtail-pipefish-in-the-home-aquarium/ |date=2011-10-06 }} Fusedjaw are two genera of fishes in the family Syngnathidae. They are found in warm, relatively shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, with a single species, D. paulus, in the eastern Pacific.Kuiter, R. H. (2003). Seahorses, Pipefishes, and their relatives. 2nd edition. TMC Publishing. Chorleywood. {{ISBN|0-9539097-4-3}} Most of these pipefishes are very colourful, and are fairly popular in the marine aquarium hobby despite requiring special care and not being recommended for beginners.Schultz III, H. C. (2003). [http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-04/hcs3/index.php There's More to Pipes Than Just PVC: The Genus Doryrhamphus and Other Pipefish.] Reefkeeping

Their habit of flashing the distinctly patterned tails during courtship and other displays have earned them their English common name. Adults are highly territorial and usually live in pairs. They feed on tiny crustaceans and other small animals, and most species from the genus Doryrhamphus will sometimes act as cleaners.

Description

Doryrhamphus have a maximum length of {{convert|14|cm|in}} or less, with D. janssi being the only species that surpasses {{convert|8.5|cm|in}}.Kuiter R. H., & H. Debelius (2007). World Atlas of Marine Fishes. 2nd edition. IKAN Unterwasserarchiv. {{ISBN|978-3-925919-77-0}}. Most species have a horizontal blue line along their body, and all have a whitish-edged tail that is marked contrastingly with black, red or yellow.

Dunckerocampus are more elongated and have a maximum length between {{convert|10|and|20|cm|in}}, with D. chapmani being the only species with a maximum length below {{convert|15|cm|in}}. Their tail is red with a whitish edge, and in some species there is a white or yellow spot in the center. All except D. baldwini (and a similar, but possibly undescribed species from the eastern Indian Ocean) have vertical red/brown and yellow/white stripes on their body.

Taxonomy

Considerable taxonomic confusion exists in these genera, both because a number of scientifically undescribed species remain and some of the already described species are variable.Kuiter, R. H. (2009). Seahorses and their relatives. Aquatic Photographics, Seaford, Australia. {{ISBN|978-0-9775372-1-1}}

The first to recognise the species now placed in Dunckerocampus as worthy of a separate genus was the German ichthyologist George Duncker, and for this reason he coined Acanthognathus in 1912.Duncker, G. (1912). Die Gattungen der Syngnathidae. Mitteilungen Naturhist. Museum Hamburg 29: 219-240. However, unbeknown to him that name was preoccupied by a genus of ants.Mayr, G. (1887). Südamerikanische Formiciden. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 37: 511-632.Ride, W.D.L, H.G. Cogger, C. Dupuis, O. Kraus, A. Minelli, F. C. Thompson & P.K. Tubbs, eds. (1999). International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 4th edition. International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. {{ISBN|0-85301-006-4}} The replacement name Dunckerocampus honours Duncker.Whitley, G. P. (1933). Studies in ichthyology. No. 7. Records of the Australian Museum v. 19 (1): 60-112, Pls. 11-15.

Following a review in 1985, Dunckerocampus was generally considered a subgenus of Doryrhamphus,Dawson, C. E. (1985). Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). Gulf Coast Research Lab., Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). i-vi + 1-230. but in 1998 it was recommended that Dunckerocampus again should be a genus, and in addition to the species formerly placed in it, it should include the newly described D. boylei.Kuiter, R. H. (1998). Pipefishes of the syngnathid genus Dunckerocampus (Sygnathiformes: Syngnathidae), with a description of a new species from the Indian Ocean. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 3(2): 81-84. When described in 2004, D. naia was also placed in this genus.Allen, G. R., & R. H. Kuiter. (2004). Dunckerocampus naia, a new species of pipefish (Pisces: Syngnathidae) from the western Pacific. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology 9(1): 1-6. Recent authorities generally recognise Doryrhamphus and Dunckerocampus as separate genera.{{FishBase genus | genus = Doryrhamphus | year = 2012 | month = September}}{{FishBase genus | genus = Dunckerocampus | year = 2012 | month = September }}Eschmeyer, W.N., & R. Fricke, eds. (2012). [http://research.calacademy.org/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp Catalog of Fishes.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120824053010/http://research.calacademy.org/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp |date=2012-08-24 }} Online version, 19 September 2012.

=Species=

Species and genera follow most recent reviews of this group.

References

{{Reflist}}

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Category:Syngnathidae

Category:Fish common names

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot