Journal of Fish Biology on May 10 published the first formal description in more than two decades of Solenostomus snuffleupagus, a newly identified ghost pipefish found in shallow seas near Australia and Papua New Guinea.
David Harasti first spotted the hairy, copper-colored fish in Papua New Guinea in 2003, and he and Graham Short later matched it with unidentified Australian Museum specimens collected in Queensland in 1993.
2022 collections from the Great Barrier Reef finally gave researchers a male and female to study, confirming the fish as the seventh known ghost pipefish species.
Genetic analysis suggests the species split from other ghost pipefishes about 18 million years ago, while its filaments, extra vertebra and squat body help distinguish it from relatives.
The species ranges from Australia and Papua New Guinea to Tonga, underscoring researchers' view that even heavily studied reefs such as the Great Barrier Reef still hold undescribed species.
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This pipefish is the first in its family to eat other fish. What does this unique diet reveal about its evolution?