Overview
Syngnathiformes is an of ray-finned fishes that includes the pipefishes and seahorses.1]
These fishes have elongate, narrow, bodies surrounded by a series of bony rings, and small, tubular mouths. Several groups live among seaweed and swim with the body aligned vertically, to blend in with the stems.
The name "Syngnathiformes" means "conjoined-jaws". It is derived from Ancient Greek syn (s??, "together") + gnathos (??????, "jaw"). The ending for fish orders "-formes" is derived from Latin and indicates "of similar form".
Systematics and Taxonomy
In some treatments, these fishes are placed as the suborder Syngnathoidei of the order Gasterosteiformes together with the stick lebacks and their relatives[2]. Better supported by the evidence nowadays available is the traditional view[3] that they are better considered separate orders, and indeed among the Acanthopterygii they might be not particularly close relatives at all[4].
In addition, the armoured stickleback (Indostomidae) and the Pegasidae (dragonfishes and sea moths) are variously placed with the pipefish or the stickleback lineage. While the placement in Syngnathiformes seems to be correct for the latter, the former is probably still best considered an actinopterygian order of its own for the time being.[4]
Morphological traits uniting the flying gurnards (Dactylopteridae) and the Syngnathiformes have long been noted[5]. Most authors however placed them with the Scorpaeniformes. However, DNA sequence data quite consistently supports the view that the latter are paraphyletic with the Gasterosteiformes sensu lato. As it seems, flying gurnards are particularly close to Aulostomidae and Fistulariidae, and would have to be included with these[4].
A tentative list of the families in the phylogenetic sequence can be given as follows:
- Centriscidae razorfishes, shrimpfishes and snipefishes (including Macroramphosidae)
- Pegasidae dragonfishes and sea moths (tentatively placed here)
- Solenostomidae false pipefishes, ghost pipefishes and tubemouth fishes
- Syngnathidae seahorses and true pipefishes
- Aulostomidae trumpetfishes
- Dactylopteridae flying gurnards (tentatively placed here)
- Fistulariidae cornetfishes
Photos
Taxonomy
The Order Syngnathiformes is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (8): Aulostomidae · Centriscidae · Fistulariidae · Fistularioididae · Paraeoliscidae · Parasynarcualidae · Solenostomidae · Syngnathidae
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 779 species and subspecies in the Order Syngnathiformes.
Families
Aulostomidae
The family Aulostomidae is a family of highly-specialized, tubularly-elongated marine fishes commonly known as trumpetfishes. Aulostomids belong to the order Syngnathiformes, along with the seahorses and the similarly-built cornetfishes. There are three distinct specis for the family's sole genus, Aulostomus. [more]
Centriscidae
Centriscidae is the family of , shrimpfishes, and bellowfishes. A small family, consisting of only about a dozen marine species found in the Indo-Pacific area, they are of an unusual appearance, as reflected by the common names. [more]
Fistulariidae
The cornetfishes are a small family Fistulariidae of extremely elongated fishes in the order . The family consists of just a single genus Fistularia with four species, found worldwide in tropical and subtropical marine environments. [more]
Fistularioididae
Paraeoliscidae
Parasynarcualidae
Solenostomidae
The ghost pipefishes (also called false pipefishes or tubemouth fishes) are a small family Solenostomidae in the order . The family consists of just a single genus, Solenostomus, with five species. Ghostpipefishes are related to pipefishes and seahorses. They are found in tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, from Asia to Africa. [more]
Syngnathidae
Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes the , the pipefishes, and the weedy and leafy sea dragons. The name is derived from Greek, meaning "fused jaw" - syn meaning fused or together, and gnathus meaning jaws. This fused jaw trait is something the entire family has in common. [more]
At least 722 species and subspecies belong to the Family Syngnathidae.
More info about the Family Syngnathidae may be found here.
References
- FishBase (2005): Order Summary for Syngnathiformes. Version of 2005-FEB-15. Retrieved 2008-AUG-19.
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (2004): Syngnathoidei (TSN 166438). Retrieved 2006-APR-08
- Kawahara, Ryouka; Miya, Masaki; Mabuchi, Kohji; Lavoue, Sιbastien; Inoue, Jun G.; Satoh, Tak ashi P.; Kawaguchi, Akira & Nishida, Mutsumi (2008): Interrelationships of the 11 gasterosteiform families (sticklebacks, pipefishes, and their relatives): A new perspective based on mitogenome sequences from 75 higher teleosts. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 46(1): 224236. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.009 (HTML abstract)
- McAllister, D.E. (1968): Evolution of branchiostegals and classification of teleostome fishes. Bulletin of the Nattional Museum of Canada, Ottawa 221: 1239.
- Nelson, Joseph S. (2006): Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0471250317
- Pietsch, T.W. (1978): Evolutionary relationships of the sea moths (Teleostei: Pegasidae) with a classification of gasterosteiform families. Copeia 1978(3): 517529. JPEG abstract and first page text
Footnotes
- ^ FishBase (2005)
- ^ E.g. Helfman et al. (1997), ITIS (2004), Nelson (2006)
- ^ E.g. McAllister (1968)
- ^ a b c Kawahara (2008)
- ^ Pietsch (1978)
Sources
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