Schultz's Pipefish, Corythoichthys schultzi Herald 1953


Other Names: Guilded Pipefish, Long-snouted Pipefish

Schultz's Pipefish, Corythoichthys schultzi, at Lembeh Straits, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Source: Ian V. Shaw / Reef Life Survey. License: CC by Attribution

Summary:

Schultz's Pipefish has a long head, a long slender snout, usually with dark stripes and spots on the side of snout and a dark stripe on the gill cover. The body has 10-15 indistinct bands (or bands comprised of stripes sometimes with ocelli or rectangular spots).


Cite this page as:
Thompson, Vanessa J. & Dianne J. Bray, Corythoichthys schultzi in Fishes of Australia, accessed 29 Mar 2024, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/1523

Schultz's Pipefish, Corythoichthys schultzi Herald 1953

More Info


Distribution

Widespread in the tropical Indo-Pacific from the Red Sea and East Africa to Tonga, north to southern Japan and south to the offshore islands of north Western Australia and throughout the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland; also Christmas Island in the eastern Indian Ocean. Schultz's Pipefish usually inhabits coarse sand and rubble areas along reef edges in lagoons and on seaward reefs at 1-30m.

Features

Dorsal fin 25-31; Pectoral fin 14-18; Trunk rings 15-17; Tail rings 32-39.

Head length 6.0-8.1 in SL, snout long, slender, snout depth 6.6-11.9 in snout length. Margins of superior trunk ridges slightly elevated above dorsal surface, finely denticulate in juveniles to 60 mm, mainly entire in larger fish; superior trunk ridges moderately to deeply indented between rings; prenuchal and nuchal ridges smooth; snout, elongate, snout length 1.5-2.0 in HL; median snout ridge usually with slight dorsal emargination; eye prominent; nostril morphology variable with two external pores common.

Caudal fin present.

Size

To 16cm TL

Colour

Colour variable with geographic region, usually with dark stripes and spots on the side of the snout. The trunk has 10 to 15 indistinct bars or prominent bands, sometimes with ocelli, each band covers 1-2 rings, interspaced with about three rings and often lightly shaded with chromatophores. The top of the head behind eyes is usually dusky or plain. The dorsal ridges have a series of orange dashes and the sides have elongated spots, sometimes forming series of short lines. Dorsal fin lacks pale spots.

Feeding

Feeds on small crustaceans sucked up from the sandy substrate or between the branches of soft corals.

Biology

The sexes are separate. Males and females form monogamous pairs and the eggs are brooded by the males in a pouch under the tail. The pouch protects the dorsal surface and side of the egg mass, leaving the ventral surface exposed. Males may begin brooding at 90-95 mm TL. Eggs are deposited in 2-17 transverse rows within a gelatinous matrix.

Fisheries

Sometimes collected for the aquarium trade.

Conservation

Marine listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

Remarks

Adult Schultz's Pipefish occur in pairs or small groups out in the open or in crevices and hollows at night.

Similar Species

C. schultzi has a long head and snout and is the only species of Corythoichthys in which two external nasal pores are common. Most similar to C. ocellatus which also has a long head and snout but differs in counts of dorsal fin rays and tail rings (25-31 and 32-39 versus 22-25 and 29-32 in C. ocellatus) and markings on ventral surface of anterior trunk rings.

Etymology

The species is named for Leonard P. Schultz, former curator in the Division of Fishes, United States National Museum of Natural History from 1936 to 1968.

Species Citation

Corythoichthys schultzi Herald 1953, Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus. 202(1): 271, fig. 42. Type locality: 100 yards offshore in lagoon, Arji Island, Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands, depth 6.1-12.2 m.

Author

Thompson, Vanessa J. & Dianne J. Bray

Resources

Atlas of Living Australia

Australian Faunal Directory
Catalog of Fishes

Schultz's Pipefish, Corythoichthys schultzi Herald 1953

References


Allen, G.R., R.C. Steene & M. Orchard. 2007. The Fishes of Christmas Island. 2nd Ed. Christmas Island Natural History Association. 284 pp.

Dawson, C.E. 1977. Review of the Pipefish genus Corythoichthys with description of three new species. Copeia 1977(2): 295-338.

Dawson, C.E. 1985. Indo-Pacific Pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. 230 pp.

Herald, E.S. 1953. Family Syngnathidae: pipefishes. pp. 231-278, figs 36-44 In: Schultz L.P., Herald E.S., Lachner E.A., Welander A.D. & Woods L.P. (eds) Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands. Vol. 1. Families Asymmetrontidae through Siganidae. Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus. 202(1): 1-685, figs. 1-90.

Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. Chorleywood, UK: TMC Publishing. 240 pp.

Kuiter, R.H.& T. Tonozuka. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eels- Snappers, Muraenidae - Lutjanidae. Zoonetics, Australia. 302 pp.

Masuda, H., K. Amaoka, C. Araga, T. Uyeno & T. Yoshino. 1984. The fishes of the Japanese Archipelago. Vol. 1. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, Japan. 437 pp.

Michael, S.W. 1998. Reef Fishes Volume 1. A Guide to Their Identification, Behaviour and Captive Care. Microcosm Ltd. Shellbourne, Vermont 624 pp.

Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian reef fishes: a comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia, 3rd revised and expanded edition. Coral Graphics, Barrigada, Guam. 330 pp.

Paulus, T. 1999. Family Syngnathidae pp 2264-2276 In: Capenter K.E. & V.H. Niem (eds). The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide For Fisheries Purposes. FAO Vol. 4, pp. 2069-2790.

Pogonoski, J.J., D.A. Pollard & J.R. Paxton. 2002. Conservation Overview and Action Plan for Australian Threatened and Potentially Threatened Marine and Estuarine Fishes, Environment Australia, Canberra. 375 pp.

Randall, J.E., G.R. Allen & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press.

Vincent, A.C.J., I. Ahnesjö, A. Bergland & G. Rosenqvist. 1992. Pipefishes and seahorses : are they all sex role reversed? Trends in Ecology and Evolution 7: 237-241.

Whiteman, E.A. & I.M. Côté. 2004. Monogamy in marine fishes. Biol. Rev. 79: 351-375.

Quick Facts


CAAB Code:37282052

Biology:Male brood pouch

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