Barbed pipefish

A marine fish belonging to the order Sticklebacks of the class Osteichthyes and the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the Pacific Ocean south of Mutsu Bay, in the Sea of ​​Japan south of Sado, and in various locations up to Okinawa, northeastern China, the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, and northeastern China. Its body is long and slender, with a pronounced tail. Its snout is long, almost equal to the distance between the rear edge of the eye and the gill slits. There is a clear protuberance in the center of the dorsal surface of the snout, with a smooth edge. In adult males, the protuberance is significantly higher. The upper protuberance of the trunk and tail is continuous, but the lower protuberance is discontinuous. The central protuberance is continuous with the lower protuberance. In adults, there are sparse skin flaps on the body and head. The dorsal fin originates behind the anus. The caudal fin is vestigial. The body is brown to greenish brown, with scattered light brown spots. It is often seen in the eelgrass zones of inland bays and grows to about 13 centimeters in length.

[Kunio Amano]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

硬骨魚綱トゲウオ目ヨウジウオ科に属する海水魚。太平洋では陸奥(むつ)湾以南、日本海では佐渡以南、沖縄までの各地、中国北東部、朝鮮半島南部、中国東北部に分布する。体が細長く、尾部で著しい。吻(ふん)は長く、目の後縁と鰓孔(さいこう)の間の距離にほとんど等しい。吻背面の中央に明瞭(めいりょう)な隆起があり、隆起の縁辺は円滑。隆起は雄の成魚では著しく高い。躯幹(くかん)部と尾部の上隆起線は連続するが、下隆起線は不連続。中央隆起は下隆起と連続する。成魚では体と頭部にまばらに皮弁をもつ。背びれ起部は肛門よりも後ろにある。尾びれは痕跡(こんせき)的。体は茶褐色から緑褐色で、淡褐色の斑点(はんてん)が散らばる。内湾のアマモ帯でよく見かける。体長は13センチメートルほどになる。

［尼岡邦夫］

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