Rough-ridge Pipefish, Cosmocampus banneri (Herald & Randall 1972)

Other Names: Banner's Pipefish, Roughridge Pipefish

A Rough-ridge Pipefish, Cosmocampus banneri, at Anilao, Philippines, April 2015. Source: Klaus Stiefel / Flickr. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial

Summary:

A whitish pipefish with a shortish snout, a very small tail fin, and a series of dark spots or diffuse dusky bars on the lower sides behind the head. This small secretive species is rarely seen.

Cite this page as:

Dianne J. Bray & Vanessa J. Thompson, Cosmocampus banneri in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/3175

Rough-ridge Pipefish, Cosmocampus banneri (Herald & Randall 1972)

More Info

Distribution	Clerke Reef, Rowley Shoals, Western Australia, Ashmore Reef, Timor Sea;also Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Elsewhere the species is widespread in the tropical, Indo-west-central Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to Fiji and the Marshall Islands, north to southern Japan. Rough-ridge Pipefish usually live amongst rubble or in crevices mostly on outer reefs, at 2-30 m.
Features	Dorsal fin 16-20; Anal fin 3-4; Pectoral fin 11-14; Caudal fin 10; Trunk rings 15; Tail rings 27-30. Head length 7.1-8.3 in SL, snout short, length 2.2-2.7 in HL; snout depth 2.8-3.6 in snout length. Snout spine present; median dorsal snout ridge with 2-4 subtriangular dorsal projections; dermal flaps present on eye and elsewhere on head. Superior trunk and tail ridges discontinuous; lateral trunk ridge straight, ending near the anal ring; inferior trunk and tail ridges continuous.
Size
Colour	Pale, even whitish, usually with some dusky bars or spots on the belly and lower trunk behind head. There are usually indications of brown bars on ventral surface of the pectoral ring and on the lower half of side and ventral surface of other trunk rings.
Feeding	Likely to feed on tiny crustaceans.
Biology	The sexes are separate and the eggs are brooded by males in a pouch under the tail that protects the dorsal surface and side of the egg mass, but the ventral surface is exposed; males may begin brooding at 23.5 mm TL. The eggs are deposited in 2-17 transverse rows within a gelatinous matrix and the brood size is at least 58 eggs.
Fisheries	Of no interest to fisheries or aquaculture.
Conservation	Marine listed under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 EPBC Act.
Etymology	Cosmocampus is from the Greek kosmos meaning order, organization or ornament, and kampos meaning sea-animal. Named after Dr. A. H. Banner who collected the holotype.
Species Citation	Syngnathus banneri Herald & Randall 1972, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 39(11): 135, fig 4, about 1/2 mile off the harbor of Ishigaki city, Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu Islands, depth 20-35 feet.
Author	Dianne J. Bray & Vanessa J. Thompson