Cosmocampus elucens

Cosmocampus elucens (shortfin pipefish, or Poey's pipefish) is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the western Atlantic, off the U.S. east coast, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Gulf of Mexico, throughout the Caribbean Sea, and off the coast of Brazil.^[1] It lives in seagrass and algae beds, typically at shallow depths (although it has been found at depths up to 78 metres (256 ft)), where it can grow to lengths of 15 centimetres (5.9 in).^[2] It is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other pipefishes.^[1] This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs and giving birth to live young.^[2]

Shortfin pipefish
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Syngnathiformes
Family:	Syngnathidae
Genus:	Cosmocampus
Species:	C. elucens
Binomial name
Cosmocampus elucens Poey, 1868
Synonyms[1]
Siphostoma robertsi Jordan & Rutter, 1897 Syngnathus ascendens Poey, 1876 Syngnathus elucens Poey, 1868 Syngnathus flavirostris Poey, 1876 Syngnathus marmoreus Poey, 1876 Syngnathus modestus Günther, 1870 Syngnathus pipulus Beebe & Tee-Van, 1932 Syngnathus linea Poey, 1876 Syngnathus picturatus Poey, 1876 Syngnathus walcotti Nichols, 1937

Identifying features

This species can be identified by its slender body, tan to greenish brown colouring, mottled upper body and sides, widely spaced pale bars along its trunk, and pair of dark stripes behind its eyes.^[3]