Flagtail pipefish

Doryrhamphus and Dunckerocampus, popularly known as flagtail pipefish,^[1] are two genera of fishes in the family Syngnathidae. They are found in warm, relatively shallow waters of the Indo-Pacific, with a single species, D. paulus, in the eastern Pacific.^[2] Most of these pipefishes are very colourful, and are fairly popular in the marine aquarium hobby despite requiring special care and not being recommended for beginners.^[1][3]

Flagtail pipefish
Doryrhamphus japonicus
Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Syngnathiformes
Family:	Syngnathidae
Subfamily:	Syngnathinae
Genera
Doryrhamphus Dunckerocampus

Their habit of flashing the distinctly patterned tails during courtship and other displays have earned them their English common name.^[1] Adults are highly territorial and usually live in pairs.^[1][3] They feed on tiny crustaceans and other small animals, and most species from the genus Doryrhamphus will sometimes act as cleaners.^[3]

Description

Doryrhamphus have a maximum length of 14 centimetres (5.5 in) or less, with D. janssi being the only species that surpasses 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in).^[2][4] Most species have a horizontal blue line along their body, and all have a whitish-edged tail that is marked contrastingly with black, red or yellow.^[2][4]

Dunckerocampus are more elongated and have a maximum length between 10 and 20 centimetres (3.9 and 7.9 in), with D. chapmani being the only species with a maximum length below 15 centimetres (5.9 in).^[2][4] Their tail is red with a whitish edge, and in some species there is a white or yellow spot in the center.^[2][4] All except D. baldwini (and a similar, but possibly undescribed species from the eastern Indian Ocean) have vertical red/brown and yellow/white stripes on their body.^[2][4]

Taxonomy

Considerable taxonomic confusion exists in these genera, both because a number of scientifically undescribed species remain and some of the already described species are variable.^[2][5]

The first to recognise the species now placed in Dunckerocampus as worthy of a separate genus was the German ichthyologist George Duncker, and for this reason he coined Acanthognathus in 1912.^[6] However, unbeknown to him that name was preoccupied by a genus of ants.^[7][8] The replacement name Dunckerocampus honours Duncker.^[9]

Following a review in 1985, Dunckerocampus was generally considered a subgenus of Doryrhamphus,^[10] but in 1998 it was recommended that Dunckerocampus again should be a genus, and in addition to the species formerly placed in it, it should include the newly described D. boylei.^[11] When described in 2004, D. naia was also placed in this genus.^[12] Recent authorities generally recognise Doryrhamphus and Dunckerocampus as separate genera.^{[5][13][14][15]}

Species

Species and genera follow most recent reviews of this group.^{[5][13][14][15]}

• Genus Doryrhamphus:
  • Doryrhamphus aurolineatus Randall & Earle, 1994
  • Narrowstripe pipefish, Doryrhamphus bicarinatus Dawson, 1981
  • Bluestripe pipefish, Doryrhamphus excisus Kaup, 1856
  • Janss' pipefish, Doryrhamphus janssi (Herald & Randall, 1972)
  • Honshu pipefish, Doryrhamphus japonicus Araga & Yoshino, 1975
  • Masthead Island pipefish, Doryrhamphus malus (Whitley, 1954) – treated as a species by some authorities,^[5][15] and a subspecies of D. negrosensis by others.^[13]
  • Barhead pipefish, Doryrhamphus melanopleura (Bleeker 1858) – treated as a species by some authorities,^[5][15] and included in D. excisus by others.^[13]
  • Negros pipefish, Doryrhamphus negrosensis Herre, 1934
  • Doryrhamphus paulus Fritzsche, 1980 – treated as a species by some authorities,^[5][15] and a subspecies of D. excisus by others.^[13]
• Genus Dunckerocampus:
  • Redstripe pipefish, Dunckerocampus baldwini (Herald & Randall, 1972)
  • Broad-banded Pipefish, Dunckerocampus boylei Kuiter, 1998
  • Glowtail pipefish, Dunckerocampus chapmani Herald, 1953
  • Ringed pipefish, Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus (Bleeker, 1853)
  • Many-banded pipefish, Dunckerocampus multiannulatus (Regan, 1903)
  • Dunckerocampus naia Allen & Kuiter, 2004
  • Yellowbanded pipefish, Dunckerocampus pessuliferus Fowler, 1938