Festucalex bifasciatus Yuki & Motomura 2025

Summary:

A relatively rare pipefish with the principal ridges of the last 1 or 2 tail rings having with 1–7 knobs or projections. The species also has a white bar on the gill cover.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2026, Festucalex bifasciatus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 02 Sep 2026, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/Home/species/5795

Festucalex bifasciatus Yuki & Motomura 2025

More Info

Distribution	North of Port Hedland, Western Australia, and the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait to off Proserpine, Queensland. Most specimens have been taken in dredges.
Features	Dorsal fin 24-28; Pectoral fin 12-15; Trunk rings 19-20; Tail rings 34-38; . Lateral trunk ridge ending at second or third tail ring; subadults and adults with or without indistinct ridges on pectoral-fin base; principal ridges of last 1 or 2 tail rings with 1–7 knobs or projections; and opercle with 2 white bars (2 pale bars in preserved specimens). Snout length (SnL) 46.4–52.6% of head length (HL); snout depth 17.8–22.7% of SnL; postorbital length 60.0–74.6% of SnL.
Fisheries
Species Citation	Festucalex bifasciatus Yuki & Motomura 2026, Zootaxa 5810(1): 171, Figs. 1-4A. Type locality: Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia, 10°10'S, 141°39'E, depth 13 m.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2026

Festucalex bifasciatus Yuki & Motomura 2025

References

Yuki, D. & Motomura, H. 2026. Festucalex bifasciatus, a new pipefish (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) from northern Australia., Zootaxa 5810(1): 171-178. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5810.1.8