''Corythoichthys flavofasciatus'', known commonly as the network pipefish, reticulate pipefish and yellow-banded pipefish, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of marine

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Syngnathidae The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and '' Phyllopteryx''). The name is derived from grc, σύν (), meaning "together", and (), meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the t ...

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found from the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and

Eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historica ...

to the

Tuamotu The Tuamotu Archipelago or the Tuamotu Islands (french: Îles Tuamotu, officially ) are a French Polynesian chain of just under 80 islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean. They constitute the largest chain of atolls in the world, extendin ...

, the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

, northern Australia and the Austral Islands. It lives in tropical climate and it is associated with lagoons and coral reefs at depths from the low tide line to 25 m.

Description

''Corythoichthys flavofasciatus'' can reach a length of about in males. These fishes have 26-36 dorsal soft rays. Body has yellow and brown stripes, while the snout is red. Males develop orange stripes and brilliant light blue spots. This species is quite similar to ''

Corythoichthys conspicillatus ''Corythoichthys conspicillatus'', the reticulate pipefish, is a species of pipefish from the family Syngnathidae. Taxonomy This species is often confused with ''Corythoichthys flavofasciatus'' and the two were considered conspecific by some aut ...

''.

Biology

This species is

ovoviviparous Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...

. These fishes are probably monogamous and are usually found in pairs.Australian Government – Department of Environment and Energy
/ref> The male carries the eggs in a ventral pouch, which is below the tail.Breder, C.M. i D.E. Rosen, 1966. Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City. 941 p. Hatching time usually lasts 10–12 days. These fishes feed on small invertebrates especially copepods, but also small isopods and ostracods. In French Polynesia it is predated by ''

Epinephelus merra The honeycomb grouper (''Epinephelus merra''), also known as black-spotted rock-cod, common birdwire rockcod, dwarf spotted rockcod, dwarf-spotted grouper, honeycomb cod, wire-netted reefcod or wire-netting cod, is a species of marine ray-finned ...

''.

Taxonomy

Some authorities consider that ''Corythoichthys flavofasciatus'' is a species which is restricted to the Red Sea and that the species found in the remainder of the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

is ''

''.

Bibliography

* Fenner, Robert M.: ''The Conscientious Marine Aquarist''. Neptune City,: T.F.H. Publications, 2001. * Helfman, G., B. Collette y D. Facey: ''The diversity of fishes''. Blackwell Science, Malden, Massachusetts, 1997. * Hoese, D.F. 1986:. A M.M. Smith y P.C. Heemstra (eds.) Smiths' sea fishes. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. * Moyle, P. and J. Cech.: ''Fishes: An Introduction to Ichthyology'', 4th. ed., Upper Saddle River, New jersey: Prentice-Hall. * Nelson, J.: ''Fishes of the World'', 3rd. ed. New York: John Wiley and Sons.. * Wheeler, A.: ''The World Encyclopedia of Fishes'', 2nd. Ed. London: Macdonald.

References

External links

* Syngnathidae Fish described in 1838 {{Syngnathiformes-stub