Seahorses and Pipefishes

Marine Life / Seahorses and Pipefishes

Check here to see the large variety of seahorse and pipefish species from around the Philippines

• Shortpouch Pygmy Pipehorse Acentronura breviperula

  The shortpouch pygmy pipehorse (Acentronura breviperula) is a tiny relative of the seahorse that looks like a seahorse stretched into a pipefish, with a curled, grasping tail.

• Lembeh Seadragon Kyonemichthys rumengani

  The Lembeh seadragon (Kyonemichthys rumengani) is a thread-thin pipehorse barely 2-3 cm long, so translucent and fine it can look like a stray piece of hydroid.

• Briarium Pipefish Apterygocampus epinnulatus

  The briarium pipefish (Apterygocampus epinnulatus) is a minute pipefish that lives only on Briareum soft corals, its body mimicking the coral's fuzzy polyps.

• Barred Xenia-Pipefish 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.

• Mushroom-Coral Pipefish Siokunichthys nigrolineatus

  The mushroom-coral pipefish (Siokunichthys nigrolineatus) is a small, dark-lined pipefish that lives among the tentacles of free-living mushroom corals.

• Lynne's Pipefish Festucalex rufus

  Lynne's pipefish (Festucalex rufus) is a small, reddish pipefish that hides among algae and rubble on sandy slopes.

• Spotted Xenia-Pipefish Siokunichthys herrei

  The spotted xenia-pipefish (Siokunichthys herrei) is a tiny, speckled pipefish that lives hidden among the polyps of Xenia and other soft corals.

• Velvet Ghostpipefish Solenostomus sp.

  The velvet ghostpipefish (Solenostomus sp.) is an undescribed ghostpipefish with a soft, velvety-looking skin covered in fine filaments.

• Ornate Harlequin Ghostpipefish Solenostomus paradoxus

  The ornate harlequin ghostpipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus) is one of the most spectacular macro subjects on the reef, a lacy, spiny fish decorated in reds, yellows, whites and blacks.

• Robust Ghostpipefish Solenostomus cyanopterus

  The robust ghostpipefish (Solenostomus cyanopterus) is a leaf-like ghostpipefish that drifts in the surge looking exactly like a fragment of seagrass or algae.

• Denise's Pygmy Seahorse Hippocampus denise

  Denise's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) is one of the smallest seahorses in the world, a smooth, orange to yellow pygmy that lives on sea fans.

• Pontoh's Pygmy Seahorse Hippocampus pontohi

  Pontoh's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus pontohi) is a tiny, free-living pygmy seahorse that lives among hydroids and algae on reef walls rather than on a single sea fan.

• Severns' Pygmy Seahorse Hippocampus severnsi

  Severns' pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus severnsi) is a minute, free-living pygmy seahorse that hides among hydroids and algae on reefs and walls.

• Bargibant's Pygmy Seahorse Hippocampus bargibanti

  Bargibant's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) is the classic pygmy seahorse, a tiny, knobbly fish that perfectly mimics the polyps of the Muricella sea fan it lives on.

• Banded Pipefish Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus

  The banded or ringed pipefish (Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus) is a red-and-white ringed pipefish with a flag-like tail.

• Thorny Seahorse Hippocampus histrix

  The thorny seahorse (Hippocampus histrix) is a long-snouted seahorse covered in sharp, often dark-tipped spines.

• Janss' Pipefish Doryrhamphus janssi

  Janss' pipefish (Doryrhamphus janssi) is a slender pipefish with an orange head and tail, a dark blue-black midbody and a white-edged, rounded tail fin.

• Ornate Pipefish Halicampus macrorhynchus

  The ornate pipefish (Halicampus macrorhynchus) is a well-camouflaged pipefish with a long snout and a body covered in skin flaps and filaments.

• Rough-snout Ghostpipefish Solenostomus paegnius

  The rough-snout ghostpipefish (Solenostomus paegnius) is a ghostpipefish with a rough, filament-covered snout and body, coloured brown, green or red to match the algae and debris around it.

• Halimeda Ghostpipefish Solenostomus halimeda

  The Halimeda ghostpipefish (Solenostomus halimeda) is a small ghostpipefish that mimics Halimeda algae, with a green to brownish body covered in pale, plate-like spots that look like the algae's…

• Double-ended Pipefish Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus

  The double-ended pipefish (Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus) is a very long, slender pipefish that often rests with its head and front of the body raised at an angle, so that it looks like a twig or piece…