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Ocellated pipefish

Corythoichthys ocellatus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Least concern
  • Usual depth3–30 m
  • Water temperature26–30 °C
  • Best monthsMarch, May, and November
  • How commonRare
All species

Photo credit: (c) Dan Schofield, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Corythoichthys ocellatus, the ocellated pipefish or orange-spotted pipefish, is a marine pipefish found in the western Pacific Ocean. Belonging to the family Syngnathidae, it grows up to 10 cm long, and is found in the first 12 m of the warm tropical seas off the coast of Australia. Ovoviviparous, the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch found under the tail.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Corythoichthys ocellatus”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 10 records
  • February: 2 records
  • March: 15 records
  • April: 12 records
  • May: 15 records
  • June: 7 records
  • July: 11 records
  • August: 5 records
  • September: 13 records
  • October: 14 records
  • November: 17 records
  • December: 14 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 3–30 m · Deepest record: 32.5 m

  • 0–10 m: 3 records
  • 10–20 m: 3 records
  • 20–30 m: 2 records
  • 30–40 m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 26–30 °C

  • 26–28 °C: 4 records
  • 28–30 °C: 19 records

Names and classification

English
Ocellated pipefish, Ocellate Pipefish, Orange-spotted pipefish
Names in 1 more languages
Simplified Chinese
晴斑冠海龍, 晴斑冠海龙

Similar species

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).
  • 60 open-data records from 1929 to 2010.
  • Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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