Dunckerocampus pessuliferus (yellowbanded pipefish), occasionally Doryrhamphus pessuliferus, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is a coastal species, inhabiting waters around the Coral Triangle, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and northwestern Australia. It lives in coral patches on sandy and muddy slopes at depths of , where it can grow to lengths of .Dawson, C.E., 1985. Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA It is an active cleaner, feeding off of parasitic crustaceans growing on other fishes. The adult fish form pairs and are normally observed swimming along the bottom around large remote coral heads on muddy slopes. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs and giving birth to live young.
It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade, but is protected in Australia under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Identifying features
The head and body of D. pessuliferus have alternating reddish-brown and yellow bands, while the tail is mostly red with a yellow spot in the center and marginal white markings.Thompson, Vanessa J. & Dianne J. Bray, Dunckerocampus pessuliferus in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Jan 2018, http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3180
References
Further reading iNaturalist
External links