Barred Xenia-Pipefish

Siokunichthys bentuviai

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Siokunichthys
Species: Siokunichthys bentuviai

The barred xenia-pipefish (Siokunichthys bentuviai) is a slender little pipefish with pale bands along its body that hides among the pulsing polyps of Xenia soft corals. Its bars break up its outline among the waving coral stalks.

It grows to only around 5 cm. Living permanently with its coral host, it slips between the polyps and feeds on tiny planktonic crustaceans. Males carry the eggs along the underside of the trunk until they hatch.

The species occurs in the Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea east to the western Pacific, including the Philippines. On Philippine reefs, Xenia patches are the place to look for it.