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Tasselled Pipefish Halicampus brocki Herald 1953
[CAAB 37 282065]

Distribution Map see an interactive map here (new window)

The Tasselled Pipefish is a slender, reef-dwelling species with branching tentacles on the head.Tropical Western Pacific, the Philippines, north to the Ryukyu Islands, northern Australia,  the Coral Sea, east to the Marshall and Mariana Islands; inhabits inshore coral and rocky reef lagoons and slopes to around 35 m, often amongst macro-algae.

Distribution, ecology and habitat:

Known from the tropical Western Pacific - from the Philippines and north to the Ryukyu Islands, northern Australia,  the Coral Sea, east to the Marshall and Mariana Islands; inhabits inshore coral and rocky reef lagoons and slopes to around 35 m, often amongst macro-algae.

Size:

To 120 mm TL

Food and feeding:

Unknown, likely to feed on small crustaceans.

Reproduction and early life history:

Reproduction: Ovoviviparous (gives birth to live young). The eggs are brooded by the males in a semi-exposed pouch under the trunk. Males may begin brooding at 90mm TL.

Eggs: Undescribed.

Larvae: Morphologically similar to adults at birth with a short pelagic stage.

Characteristics:

Meristics: D 21-23; A usually 4; P 11-14; Trunk rings 14; Tail rings 33-37.

Head and body: Body slender; head with filamentous tentacles; median dorsal snout ridge discontinuous with three semi-isolated crests in subadults-adults with denticulate to spiny margins; 1-2 lateral spines on the snout; dorsal rim of orbit elevated, often with spines or serrations; principle body ridges elevated; superior ridges of trunk rings with 3-5 strong spine-like serrations; back often with dermal flaps.

Fins: Pectoral fin base with one distinct ridge, base protruding laterally, more so in juveniles than in adults.

Colour:

Pale brown to tan; snout and suborbital region often with three brown bars; body usually with 10-11 diffuse pale bars.

Similar species:

H. dunckeri and H. brocki attain a similar size and both may have filaments on the head, but these are branched in H. brocki and simple in H. dunckeri. H. brocki also has a greater number of tail rings (33-37 versus 31-36), dorsal fin rays (21-23 versus 16-20) and pectoral fin rays (11-14 versus 10-13).

Fisheries:

Sometimes collected for the aquarium trade.

Conservation Status:

Australian Government Legislation: Marine listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Remarks:

With its branching tentacles, H. brocki is well camouflaged amongst algal growth.

Other common names:

Brock's Pipefish.

Etymology:

Halicampus is from the Greek, als, alis for salt and the Greek, kampe meaning bend.

References:

Allen, G.R. 1997. Marine fishes of tropical Australia and south-east Asia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 292 pp.

Allen, G.R. & M. Adrim. 2003. Coral reef fishes of Indonesia. Zool. Stud. 42(1): 1-72.

Allen, G.R. & R. Swainston. 1988. The marine fishes of north-western Australia. A field guide for anglers and divers. Western Australian Museum, Perth. 201 pp.

Dawson, C.E. 1985. Indo-Pacific Pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. 230 pp.

Fricke, R. 2004. Review of the pipefishes and seahorses (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) of New Caledonia, with descriptions of five new species. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie A (Biologie). 66S: 1-66.

Herald, E.S. 1953. Family Syngnathidae: pipefishes, pp 231-278 In Schultz, L.P., E.S. Herald, E.A. Lachner, A.D. Welander & L.P. Woods (eds.) Fishes of the Marshall and Marianas Islands. Vol. 1. Families Asymmetronidae through Siganidae. Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus. 202(1): 1-685.

Hoese, D.F., D.J. Bray, J.R. Paxton & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells (eds). Zoological catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia. 2178 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. TMC Publishing, Chorleywood, UK. 240 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. & T. Tonozuka. 2001. Pictorial guide to Indonesian reef fishes. Part 1. Eels- Snappers, Muraenidae - Lutjanidae. Zoonetics, Australia. 302 pp.

Michael, S.W. 1998. Reef Fishes Volume 1. A Guide to Their Identification, Behaviour and Captive Care. Microcosm Ltd. Shellbourne, Vermont. 624 pp.

Myers, R.F. 1999. Micronesian reef fishes. A comprehensive guide to the coral reef fishes of Micronesia. 3rd revised ed. Coral Graphics, Guam. 330 pp, 192 pls.

Nakabo, T. 2002. (Ed.) Fishes of Japan with pictorial keys to the species. English edition. Tokai University Press. vol. 1, 866 pp.

Pogonoski, J.J., D.A. Pollard & J.R. Paxton. 2002. Conservation Overview and Action Plan for Australian Threatened and Potentially Threatened Marine and Estuarine Fishes, Environment Australia, Canberra. 375 pp.

Paulus, T. 1999. Family Syngnathidae. pp 2264-2276, In Capenter K.E. & Niem V.H. (eds) The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific. FAO Species Identification Guide For Fisheries Purposes. FAO Vol. 4. pp 2069-2790.

Randall, J.E., Allen, G.R. & R.C. Steene. 1997. Fishes of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Crawford House Press. Bathurst. 557 pp.

Senou, H. & M. Aizawa. 1993. Two rare species of the genus Halicampus (Pisces; Syngnathidae) from the Ryukyu Islands. I. O. P. Diving News 4(1)]: 4-5. [In Japanese, English abstract.]