Upside-down Pipefish, Heraldia nocturna Paxton 1975

Endemic to temperate waters of southern and southeastern Australia, from about Seal Rocks, New South Wales, around the southern half of Australia to Geographe Bay, Western Australia, and to Port Davey on the west coast of Tasmania.

Upside-down Pipefish inhabit sheltered inshore reefs in harbours, bays and coves where they are usually seen beneath ledges, in holes, crevices and small caves at depths of 2-30 m.

Dorsal fin 21-27; Anal fin 4; Pectoral fin 18-22; Caudal fin 11; Trunk rings 16-19; Tail rings 14-16.

Body moderately elongated; trunk shallow, body posterior to dorsal fin much shorter than that before dorsal fin; head aligned with body; snout of moderate length (38-48% head length) and depth (23-44% snout length); opercle with complete longitudinal ridge and with supplemental ridges radiating above and below; posterior angles of rings somewhat elevated and produced to spine-like points; tail not prehensile.

Dorsal fin closer to tip of tail than to head, base of moderate length; anal fin small, below rear half of dorsal fin; caudal fin large, membranes broad and deeply incised between protruding tips of rays; pectoral fins small. New South Wales individuals have a larger caudal fin than those on the south coast.

To 10 cm SL.

Two distinct colour forms exist - a mostly dark brown to blackishform, sometimes with irregular tan or white blotches, and a mottled yellowish-brown form with brown markings and pale bands.

Upside-down Pipefish feed on small planktonic crustaceans such as mysids, which are sucked in through the long snout.

Males brood the eggs on the underside of the trunk, in a brood area extending from the 2^nd to the 16^th trunk ring. This area lacks pouch plates or membranous folds. Males may begin brooding at 63 mm SL.

The eggs are deposited in open membranous sockets formed from a firm gelatinous matrix on the ventral surface of the trunk rings. Males brood about 50-100 eggs.

At hatching, the larvae measure 5-6 mm TL and have fin folds but lack developed fin rays. They are bright yellowish-green with some scattered melanophores.

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

Listed as a protected species under New South Wales, Victorian, Tasmanian and South Australian Fisheries Management Acts.

Usually seen in pairs during the day swimming upside-down on the ceilings of caves or under rock ledges. The Upside-down Pipefish ventures out into the open at night. Upside-down Pipefish live in captivity for between 5 and 10 years, and readily reproduce, although larvae have not been raised.

This monotypic genus is most similar to other pipefish genera with an abdominal brood area and small spines on the posterior ends of the body ring ridges. Heraldia differs from Doryrhamphus and Dentirostrum with a lack of brood pouch flaps, from Dunckerocampus by the shorter snout and fewer tail rings and from Oostethus and Maroubra by the position of the dorsal fin mostly on the trunk.

The genus Heraldia was named in honour of Earl Stannard Herald who recognised the first specimens as a new genus and provided a brief description of the species before his death. The specific name nocturna refers to the nocturnal activity of the Upside-down Pipefish.

Heraldia nocturna Paxton 1975, Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 40(15): 439-447, Watsons Bay, Sydney Harbour, New South Wales.

Bray, D.J. & Thompson, V.J. 2017

Australian Faunal Directory