It is very precise when it eats: it slowly approaches tiny shrimps that are handed to it and then sucks them in with a quick, brisk stroke.
It is extremely proficient at camouflaging itself in sand and algae.
Identity card
Longsnout Pipefish
- Scientific name:
- Syngnathus acus
- Family:
- Syngnathidae
- Class:
- Actinopterygii
- Phylum:
- Chordata
- Year of description:
- Linnaeus, 1758
- IUCN Status:
- Least Concern
- CITES-status:
Not evaluated
- Distribution:
-
It inhabits the Mediterranean Sea and the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Scandinavia to South Africa.
- Habitat:
-
The longsnout pipefish lives in calm waters, on a variety of seabeds, whether sandy, rocky or detrital.
- Size:
It measures 30 to 50 cm. This species is ovoviviparous.
- Diet:
-
It feeds on small planktonic crustaceans which it sucks in with its snout.
