Seaweed pipefish
Syngnathus schlegeli Kaup, 1856
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
The Pacific seaweed pipefish (Syngnathus schlegeli) is a species of pipefish, which is a marine, oceanic demersal fish, common in the beds of Zostera sea grass. The pipefish is well known for being one of the most famous and expensive materials of Traditional Chinese medicine, as it possesses a special medicinal composition. The fish is a member of the Syngnathidae family, making them relatives with seahorses and seadragons. The Syngnathidae family is a large group with almost 300 species of marine, brackish, and freshwater fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Pacific seaweed pipefish; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:01:19.034313+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Syngnathus schlegeli Kaup, 1856
- Name authority
- Kaup, 1856
- Common name
- Seaweed 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 schlegeli Kaup, 1856
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 |
| Nilsson's pipefishSyngnathus rostellatus Nilsson, 1855 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Sygnathoides schlegeli (Kaup, 1856) (Kaup, 1856) | synonym |
| Syngnathus acusimilis Günther, 1873 Günther, 1873 | 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.
- Kaup, J. J. (1853). Uebersicht der Lophobranchier. Archiv Für Naturgeschichte, v. 19 (pt. 1): 226–234. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.9548 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:53WPR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.