Ghost Pipefish
Solenostomus cyanopterus
The robust ghost pipefish, also known as the blue-finned or squaretail ghost pipefish, is a false pipefish in the family Solenostomidae. Its look varies considerably, since it can shift colour over the course of several hours, but its overall body and fin shapes let it pass convincingly for a blade of seagrass.
Family
Solenostomidae
Avg Size
10-16 cm
Habitat
The species occurs in the Red Sea and across the tropical Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to Fiji, southern Japan, and Australia. Its broad range and adaptability to varied habitats aid its survival as a species. Larvae and young are mostly pelagic, while adults settle on coastal reefs and weedy areas at depths of 2 to 25 m (about 7 to 82 ft), favouring coral, vegetation, and sand.
Behaviour
Slow-moving and placid, the robust ghost pipefish retreats into nearby seagrass for camouflage or coral for cover when disturbed. Its life is brief, spanning a single breeding period before it dies. It feeds on the bottom, swimming snout-down near the substrate to take benthic invertebrates, and relies heavily on its camouflage to ambush prey. Lacking teeth in its tube-shaped snout, it simply sucks its prey in whole.
