Dunckerocampus pessuliferus Fowler, 1938
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Dunckerocampus pessuliferus (yellowbanded pipefish), occasionally Doryrhamphus pessuliferus, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is a coastal species, inhabiting waters around the Coral Triangle, including the Philippines, Indonesia, and northwestern Australia. It lives in coral patches on sandy and muddy slopes at depths of 15–44 metres (49–144 ft), where it can grow to lengths of 16 centimetres (6.3 in). It is an active cleaner, feeding off of parasitic crustaceans growing on other fishes. The adult fish form pairs and are normally observed swimming along the bottom around large remote coral heads on muddy slopes. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs and giving birth to live young.
It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade, but is protected in Australia under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Wikipedia contributors, Dunckerocampus pessuliferus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:33:47.507650+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Dunckerocampus pessuliferus Fowler, 1938
- Name authority
- Fowler, 1938
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Syngnathiformes
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Genus
- Dunckerocampus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSyngnathiformes
- familySyngnathidae Bonaparte, 1831
- subfamilyNerophinae Kaup, 1853
- genusDunckerocampus Whitley, 1933
- speciesDunckerocampus pessuliferus Fowler, 1938
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Dunckerocampus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dunckerocampus boylei Kuiter, 1998 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dunckerocampus caulleryi (Chabanaud, 1929) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dunckerocampus baldwini Herald & Randall, 1972 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dunckerocampus chapmani Herald, 1953 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus (Bleeker, 1853) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| multibar pipefishDunckerocampus multiannulatus (Regan, 1903) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dunckerocampus naia Allen & Kuiter, 2004 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Doryrhamphus pessuliferus (Fowler, 1938) (Fowler, 1938) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Fowler, H. W. (1938). Descriptions of new fishes obtained by the United States Bureau of Fisheries steamer “Albatross”, chiefly in Philippine seas and adjacent waters. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, 85 (3032): 31–135. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00963801.85-3032.31 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:382KD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.