Phoxocampus belcheri, commonly referred to as the rock pipefish, is a marine species within the family Syngnathidae. This species is characterized by its distinctive dark brown coloration, adorned with pale spots.
Phoxocampus belcheri is typically located in shallow reef environments and tide pools across a broad region of the Indo-Pacific, extending from the eastern coastline of Africa and the 🌊 Red Sea to areas including 🇹🇴 Tonga and 🇯🇵 Japan.
The dietary habits of this species are presumed to include small crustaceans such as copepods. Reproductively, Phoxocampus belcheri exhibits ovoviviparity, a process where the male broods the eggs and subsequently gives live birth.
Why it's threatened
Residential & commercial development
Housing & urban areas · Commercial & industrial areas · Tourism & recreation areas
Habitat shifting & alteration · Temperature extremes
There are no known direct threats to this species, however they may be declining as a result of habitat loss and degradation. Shallow coastal areas in the region are known to have medium to high levels of impact from humans (Halpern et al. 2008, Crain et al. 2009). Additionally 88% of Southeast Asian coral reefs are at risk from coastal development, destructive fishing practices, pollution and climate change (Burke et al. 2002; see also Bruno and Selig 2007, Carpenter et al. 2008), which suggests some level of decline in habitat for those individuals or populations associated with coral reefs, though not likely at a timescale short enough to be relevant to three generation lengths for the species. Further research is needed in order to determine if and how the species relies on coral reefs, and what their decline means for the wild P. belcheri population.
Threat classification from the IUCN Red List.
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