There are some marine animals that strike a chord with us the minute we see them or hear about them. There is something about them that intuitively appeals to us and in this article, we are looking at a close relative of the Seahorse the Greater Pipefish - Syngnathus acus.
There are several things that make this fish distinctive and hard to mistake for other creatures. They have a long thin body with an elongated snout. The snout can be over half the size of the head and is used to pick up small crustaceans and fish larvae that they like to feed upon. The Greater Pipefish is the most common species in the UK and the one I have seen most when exploring under the water, but you can find several others. If you are ever uncertain if you look at the head the Greater Pipefish it has a bump or hump behind the eye.
Like the seahorse they do not have scales, instead the Greater Pipefish is covered by segmented plates that give them an angular appearance, on close inspection they seem to be armoured. They are masters are camouflage with their bodies being either green or brown on top with lighter underbelly and dark bands along the length. This enables them to blend into the seaweed and it is often the snout you see first, just lifted above the section of weed, following it backwards often then reveals the rest of them.
Fully grown they can be 45cms long and this is about the size I have seen, all in water under 18 metres deep, however they have been found in water as deep as 110 metres. One good location to see them is off the beach at Selsey, lying in patches of weed. At the end of a sunny day at low water check when you are swimming as they can come in remarkably close to the beach, curl up in patches of weed and sunbathe in the warm water. A great sight to see when snorkelling or swimming on a summer’s evening. If you do not splash too much, they are quite happy to be observed and pose nicely for pictures.
Like their seahorse cousins the male pipefish carry the eggs in a brood pouch to protect them. They can carry up to 400 eggs at a time but unlike the seahorse not necessarily all from the same female. The babies remain inside for about 5 weeks before emerging as a perfect miniature version often just 1.7cms in length. I have yet to see a baby but must admit these are one of my favourite marine residents and will remain, but I will keep my eyes peeled for the their seahorse cousin.
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