Ladder Pipefish, Festucalex scalaris (Günther 1870)
Ladder Pipefish, Festucalex scalaris. Source: Barry Hutchins / Western Australian Museum. License: CC BY Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike
A relatively rare tan colored pipefish with 13–15 broad brown and white ladder-like crossbands along the back and side, and white markings on the underside of the edge of each ring.
Ladder Pipefish, Festucalex scalaris (Günther 1870)
More Info
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Distribution |
Endemic to Western Australia, from Shark Bay to Ningaloo Reef. Inhabits shallow seagrass and algal beds in sheltered inlets, bays, inlets and lagoons. |
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Features |
Dorsal fin 24-26; Pectoral fin 11-13;Trunk rings 18-20; Tail rings 37-40. Snout short, length 2.1-2.5 in head length; lateral snout ridge obsolete, postorbital ridge low. Lateral trunk ridge crosses 1-3 tail rings; ridges of last 1-2 tail rings not modified; small dermal flaps usually present on head but absent or sparse on body; dermal flaps absent from trunk and tail in subadults and adults; principal ridges of tail rings entire, without knobs or spiny projections. Pectoral fin base rounded and somewhat protruding laterally, without ridges in adults. |
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Size |
To 200 mm TL |
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Colour |
Snout light tan above, remainder of head mainly tan to light brown; lower half of snout, suborbital, opercle and ventral surface of head with irregular scattering of small brown spots; dorsal surface and sides of body with 13-14 indistinct brownish bars between head and caudal fin base; bars separated by narrower pale interspaces which may be plain, blotched or with fine brown reticulations; caudal fin brownish with pale spots or blotches. |
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Feeding |
Likely to feed on small benthic or planktonis crustaceans. |
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Biology |
Males brood the developing eggs in a semi-exposed pouch under the trunk. The pouch folds fall well short of the midline of the egg-filled pouch. Males may begin brooding at 120 mm SL. The eggs are in a single, two row layer in the pouch. |
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Fisheries |
Taken occasionally as incidental bycatch in trawls. |
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Conservation |
Marine listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. |
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Remarks |
Most specimens have been collected in bottom trawls. |
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Similar Species |
F. scalaris can be distinguished from other members of the genus Festucalex by a combination of high trunk ring counts (18-20 versus 18 or less), high total ring counts (56-59 versus 56 or less), and in having a spotted head and barred ventral surface and the absence of modified posterior tail rings. F. scalaris is most similar to F. cinctus in counts, differing in colouration, some proportional characters and in lacking the modified tail rings of F. cinctus. |
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Etymology |
The specific name is from the Latin scalaris (= ladder, resembling a ladder), in reference to the ladderlike pattern along the body and tail. |
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Species Citation |
Ichthyocampus scalaris Günther 1870, Cat. Fishes 8: 177. Type locality: Freycinet's Harbour, Australia. |
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Author |
Thompson, V.J. & Bray, D.J. 2026 |
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Resources |
Ladder Pipefish, Festucalex scalaris (Günther 1870)
References
Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine fishes of tropical Australia and south-east Asia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 292 pp.
Allen, G.R. 2000. Fishes of the Montebello Islands. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 59: 47-57
Allen, G.R. & Erdmann, M.V. 2015. Festucalex rufus, a new species of pipefish (Syngnathidae) from Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology 21(1): 47-51.
Allen, G.R. & Swainston, R. 1988. The marine fishes of north-western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 201 pp.
Dawson, C.E. 1977. Synopsis of Syngnathine pipefishes usually referred to the genus Ichthyocampus Kaup, with description of new genera and species. Bull. Mar. Sci. 27(4): 595-650
Dawson, C.E. 1985. Indo-Pacific Pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. 230 pp.
Günther, A. 1870. Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum. Vol. 8. British Museum, London. 549 pp. See ref at BHL
Hutchins, J.B. 1990. Fish survey of South Passage, Shark Bay, Western Australia. pp. 263-278 in Berry, P.F., Bradshaw, S.D. & Wilson, B.R. (eds). Research in Shark Bay: Report of the France-Australe Bicentenary Expedition Committee. Perth : Western Australian Museum.
Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, pipefishes and their relatives. Chorleywood, UK : TMC Publishing 240 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 2009. Seahorses and their relatives. Seaford, Australia : Aquatic Photographics pp. 331.
Manning, C. & Pollom, R. 2017. Festucalex scalaris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T65367328A67624713. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T65367328A67624713.en. Accessed on 16 August 2026.
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.
Whitley, G.P. & Allan, J. 1958. The Sea-horse and its relatives. Melbourne : Georgian House 84 pp. 25 figs.
