Cheeked Pipefish
Corythoichthys insularis
- Usual depth11–43 m
- Water temperature26–28 °C
- Best monthsApril and May
- How commonRare
Photo credit: (c) jeyre, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
Corythoichthys insularis is a species of marine fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the western Indian Ocean, from the Amirante and Comoros islands to the Maldives. It inhabits coral and rocky reefs at depths of 20 to 45 metres, where it can grow to lengths of 10 centimetres (3.9 in). This species is ovoviviparous, with sexual maturity being reached at 8.2 centimetres (3.2 in). The male carries the fertilised eggs in a brood pouch located under his tail.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Corythoichthys insularis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 1 records
- February: 3 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 10 records
- May: 9 records
- June: 2 records
- July: 1 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 3 records
- October: 1 records
- November: 2 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 11–43 m · Deepest record: 68.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 26–28 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Cheeked Pipefish, Red-cheeked Pipefish
Names in 1 more languages
- Simplified Chinese
- 海岛冠海龙, 海島冠海龍
Similar species
Banded PipefishCorythoichthys flavofasciatus
Bloodspot PipefishCorythoichthys haematopterus
Banded pipefishCorythoichthys intestinalis
Brown-banded PipefishCorythoichthys amplexus
Benedetto's PipefishCorythoichthys benedetto
Reticulated PipefishCorythoichthys conspicillatus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 24 open-data records from 1975 to 2002.
- Species data updated November 1, 2026.
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