The Cosmocampus maxweberi, commonly referred to as Maxweber's pipefish, is a marine species within the family Syngnathidae. Its distribution spans the 🌊 Red Sea, extending from Sumatra (🇮🇩 Indonesia) to 🇹🇴 Tonga and 🇼🇸 Samoa, and reaching from the 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands to the Great Barrier Reef. Adult individuals inhabit reef environments and reef-rubble down to depths of 36 meters, whereas the planktonic juveniles are typically observed within the upper 85 meters of water columns ranging from 1500 to 2000 meters deep. The diet of adult Maxweber’s pipefish likely consists of small crustaceans, akin to other species within the pipefish group, and they can reach up to 10 centimeters in length. This species is ovoviviparous, with males assuming the role of carrying eggs until the offspring are born live.
The species’ specific name is a tribute to the German-Dutch zoologist and biogeographer Max Carl Wilhelm Weber (1852–1937).
In terms of appearance, the Cosmocampus maxweberi exhibits a color palette ranging from pale red to tan, accented by a distinct dark lateral stripe on the snout and brown markings on the head. Additionally, it may feature dark brown bars along its ventral and lower sides.
Why it's threatened
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
