Alligator Pipefish

Syngnathoides biaculeatus, the Alligator Pipefish, is a member of the family Syngnathidae (along with the pipefishes, this family includes the seahorses and sea dragons). Alligator Pipefish are found in shallow coastal waters, living among seagrasses, where they feed on small crustaceans and fish (Nakamura et al. 2003). Alligator Pipefish grow to around 280 mm total length. The Alligator Pipefish is thought to be the most heavily exploited pipefish in traditional Chinese medicine. (Barrows et al. 2008 and references therein) As is the case for the males of all pipefishes and seahorses, male Alligator Pipefish incubate the eggs before they hatch. Eggs are protected in male brood pouches until they have fully developed and hatch as juveniles. In this species, males have a simple "pouch" morphology in which the embryos are attached to the ventral surface of the male abdomen, which has no flaps of surrounding tissue. Initial clutch size is directly correlated to the size of the male carrying the eggs. Reproduction occurs year-round and generation time is short. (Barrows et al. 2008 and references therein). The Alligator Pipefish has a wide geographic range, being found in seagrass habitats from the northern Red Sea and the eastern coast of Africa eastward to Japan, Samoa, the Tonga Islands, and Australasia (Dawson 1985, cited in Barrows et al. 2008).