---
title: Pipefishes (Syngnathinae)
scientific_name: Syngnathinae
common_name: Pipefishes
rank: Subfamily
published: 2024-11-19T18:41:51.573Z
updated: 2026-08-03T21:09:06.845Z
tags: Pipefishes, Syngnathinae, Red Sea, Marine Life, Diving
url: https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes
---

# Pipefishes (*Syngnathinae*)

## Quick facts

- **Rank:** Subfamily
- **Scientific name:** Syngnathinae
- **Body shape:** Elongate - Long and slender, but still fish-shaped - trumpetfishes, needlefishes, cornetfishes.
- **Species listed here:** 19

## How to recognise this group

- elongated, slender body
- long tubular snout
- small, indistinct fins
- body encased in bony rings or plates
- cryptic mottled coloration

Pipefishes (Syngnathinae) are bony fishes with slender, elongated bodies, encased in a series of rigid bony rings rather than scales. They possess a distinctive fused, tubular snout and small, often inconspicuous fins. Their cryptic colouration, typically mottled greens, browns, and greys, enables them to blend with their surroundings. Members measure 10 to 40 cm (4-16 in) in length.

These slow-moving fishes inhabit shallow coral reefs, seagrass beds, and rubble flats, found from the surface to depths of 30 metres (100 ft). They often remain motionless or sway gently with currents, enhancing their camouflage among seagrass blades or branching corals. Pipefishes feed on small invertebrates and zooplankton, using their tubular snout to suck prey. Males exhibit paternal care, carrying the eggs in a brood pouch or attached to the underside of their body until hatching.


## Species (19)

- [Alligator Pipefish (Syngnathoides biaculeatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/alligator-pipefish)
- [Banner’s Pipefish (Cosmocampus banneri)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/banners-pipefish)
- [Blackchest Pipefish (Corythoichthys nigripectus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/blackchest-pipefish)
- [Blue-Spotted Pipefish (Hippichthys cyanospilos)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/blue-spotted-pipefish)
- [Bluestripe Pipefish (Doryrhamphus excisus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/bluestripe-pipefish)
- [Broad-Banded Pipefish (Dunckerocampus boylei)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/broad-banded-pipefish)
- [Duncker’s Pipefish (Halicampus dunckeri)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/dunckers-pipefish)
- [Hairy Pygmy Pipehorse (Acentronura tentaculata)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/hairy-pygmy-pipehorse)
- [Herre’s Pipefish (Siokunichthys herrei)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/herres-pipefish)
- [Max Weber’s Pipefish (Cosmocampus maxweberi)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/max-webers-pipefish)
- [Multibar Pipefish (Dunckerocampus multiannulatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/multibar-pipefish)
- [Network Pipefish (Corythoichthys flavofasciatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/network-pipefish)
- [Ornate Pipefish (Halicampus macrorhynchus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/ornate-pipefish)
- [Rock Pipefish (Phoxocampus belcheri)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/rock-pipefish)
- [Samoan Pipefish (Halicampus mataafae)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/samoan-pipefish)
- [Schultz's Pipefish (Corythoichthys schultzi)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/schultzs-pipefish)
- [Shortnose Pipefish (Micrognathus andersonii)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/shortnose-pipefish)
- [Shorttailed Pipefish (Trachyrhamphus bicoarctatus)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/shorttailed-pipefish)
- [Thread Pipehorse (Kyonemichthys rumengani)](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes/thread-pipehorse)

---

*Source: [Red Sea Creatures](https://redseacreatures.com/taxon/fishes/bony-fishes/pipefishes)*
*Updated: August 3, 2026*