Cosmocampus retropinnis Dawson, 1982
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 retropinnis (back-finned pipefish) is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. The name retropinnis comes from the location of the species' dorsal fin as either caudal or posterior. The coloration of this organism is mostly brown and tan markings on its snout side, head's dorsum, side of the trunk, and venter of the tail. It is only known from a few juvenile specimens collected off southern Morocco and Gambia at depths to 79m. Little is known about its feeding habits, but it is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other pipefish. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs before giving birth to live young.
Wikipedia contributors, Cosmocampus retropinnis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:25:28.016089+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cosmocampus retropinnis Dawson, 1982
- Name authority
- Dawson, 1982
- 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 retropinnis Dawson, 1982
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 |
| Cosmocampus howensis (Whitley, 1948) | 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 |
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.
- Dawson, C. E. (1982). Descriptions of Cosmocampus retropinnis sp. n., Minyichthys sentus sp. n. and Amphelikturus sp. (Pisces, Syngnathidae) from the eastern Atlantic region. Zoologica Scripta, 11 (2): 135–140. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1463-6409.1982.tb00526.x 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:6B6CM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.