Nilsson's pipefish
Syngnathus rostellatus Nilsson, 1855
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.
Syngnathus rostellatus
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Open encyclopedia reference
The lesser pipefish or Nilsson's pipefish (Syngnathus rostellatus) is a pipefish similar to the greater pipefish, but with no crest above the head. Usually it reaches up to 17 centimetres (6.7 in) in length, maximally 18 centimetres (7.1 in), although in South Wales they are usually not more than 10 to 13 centimetres (3.9 to 5.1 in) long. They have a light to dark green-brown color with bar-like markings on the sides (similar to the greater pipefish).
Wikipedia contributors, Lesser pipefish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:29:34.815020+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Syngnathus rostellatus Nilsson, 1855
- Name authority
- Nilsson, 1855
- Common name
- Nilsson's pipefish
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Syngnathiformes
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Genus
- Syngnathus
- 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
- subfamilySyngnathinae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusSyngnathus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesSyngnathus rostellatus Nilsson, 1855
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Syngnathus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Texas pipefishSyngnathus affinis Günther, 1870 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| kelp pipefishSyngnathus californiensis Storer, 1845 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Caribbean pipefishSyngnathus caribbaeus Dawson, 1979 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| chocolate pipefishSyngnathus euchrous Fritzsche, 1980 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| barcheek pipefishSyngnathus exilis (Osburn & Nichols, 1916) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| dusky pipefishSyngnathus floridae (Jordan & Gilbert, 1882) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| northern pipefishSyngnathus fuscus Storer, 1839 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Guadalupe pipefishSyngnathus insulae Fritzsche, 1980 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| chain pipefishSyngnathus louisianae Günther, 1870 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Yucatan pipefishSyngnathus makaxi Herald & Dawson, 1972 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Syngnathus phlegon Risso, 1827 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Syngnathus schmidti Popov, 1928 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sygnatus rostellatus Nilsson, 1855 Nilsson, 1855 | synonym |
| Syngnathus dumerilii Duméril, 1870 Duméril, 1870 | 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.
- Nilsson, S. (1855). Skandinavisk fauna. Fjerde Delen: Fiskarna. Första Häftet. Lund, i–xxxiv + 1–768. 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.
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:53WPL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.