Gray's pipefish
Halicampus grayi
- Usual depth0–40 m
- Water temperature15–30 °C
- Best monthsApril, September, and November
- How commonRare
About this species
Halicampus grayi, Gray's pipefish, also known as the mud pipefish or spiny pipefish, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the Indo-Pacific in the Gulf of Aden, Sri Lanka, and from the Gulf of Thailand to Japan, the Marshall Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. It lives to depth of 100 metres (330 ft), and planktonic juveniles have been found above depths of 3,000 metres (1.9 mi). It occurs in muddy habitats, in estuaries, and on coral reefs, where it likely feeds on small crustaceans. It can grow to lengths of 20 centimetres (7.9 in). This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Halicampus grayi”, 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: 3 records
- February: 7 records
- March: 2 records
- April: 12 records
- May: 5 records
- June: 8 records
- July: 8 records
- August: 6 records
- September: 19 records
- October: 8 records
- November: 17 records
- December: 5 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0–40 m · Deepest record: 76 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 15–30 °C
Names and classification
- English
- Gray's pipefish, Mud pipefish, spiny pipefish
Names in 3 more languages
- Japanese
- Umiyakko, ウミヤッコ
- Thai
- ปลาจิ้มฟันจระเข้หนาม
- Simplified Chinese
- 海蝎魚, 海蝎鱼, 海龍, 葛氏海蠋魚, 葛氏海蠋鱼, 葛氏海龍
Other scientific names: Halicampus conspicillatus, Halicampus gray, Halicampus koilomatodon, Syngnathus koilomatodon, Syngnathus trachypoma, Trachyrhamphus caba
Similar species
- Brock's pipefish
Halicampus brocki
- Glittering Pipefish
Halicampus nitidus
Banded PipefishCorythoichthys flavofasciatus
Bloodspot PipefishCorythoichthys haematopterus
Banded pipefishCorythoichthys intestinalis
Bluestripe pipefishDoryrhamphus excisus
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).
- 204 open-data records from 1858 to 2017.
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