Cosmocampus howensis (Whitley, 1948)
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
Cosmocampus howensis (Lord Howe pipefish) is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the South Pacific from Jervis Bay (New South Wales, Australia) to Easter Island. It lives in lagoons and on rocky reefs, where it grows to lengths of 10–12 centimetres (3.9–4.7 in). It is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other pipefishes. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs before giving birth to live young.
Wikipedia contributors, Cosmocampus howensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:25:20.065282+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cosmocampus howensis (Whitley, 1948)
- Name authority
- (Whitley, 1948)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Syngnathiformes
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Genus
- Cosmocampus
- 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
- genusCosmocampus Dawson, 1979
- speciesCosmocampus howensis (Whitley, 1948)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cosmocampus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmocampus coccineus (Herald, 1940) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cosmocampus investigatoris (Hora, 1926) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| dwarf pipefishCosmocampus hildebrandi (Herald, 1965) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cosmocampus heraldi (Fritzsche, 1980) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cosmocampus retropinnis Dawson, 1982 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Parasyngnathus howensis Whitley, 1948 Whitley, 1948 | synonym |
| Syngnathus caldwelli Herald & Randall, 1972 Herald & Randall, 1972 | 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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=278061 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:6B6BC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.