pipefish

American  

[pahyp-fish] / ˈpaɪpˌfɪʃ /

noun

plural

pipefish,

plural

pipefishes

1. any elongated, marine and sometimes freshwater fish species of the family Syngnathidae, having a tubular snout and covered with bony plates.

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pipefish British  

/ ˈpaɪpˌfɪʃ /

noun

1. Also called: needlefish.  any of various teleost fishes of the genera Nerophis, Syngnathus, etc, having a long tubelike snout and an elongated body covered with bony plates: family Syngnathidae

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Etymology

Origin of pipefish

First recorded in 1760–70; pipe ¹ + fish

Example Sentences

Many animals, like the sargassum pipefish, the sargassum slug, and the sargassum frogfish, have bodies that resemble in pattern, color, and shape the brown tendrils of seaweed.

From Slate • Jul. 16, 2023

This is a special moment, capturing the meeting of the seagrass shrimp and the seagrass pipefish in Spanish waters.

From BBC • Feb. 10, 2022

My back garden is gin-clear water – pipefish and turtles my nosy neighbours.

From The Guardian • Nov. 4, 2018

Here, there are live animals showing off their colors — eels, scorpion fish, pipefish, green-patterned chain catsharks and red seahorses.

From New York Times • Mar. 22, 2018

"Compared with straight-bodied pipefish, all sea horse species studied consistently show an additional forward-reaching component in the path traveled by the mouth during their strikes at prey," the researchers wrote.

From Scientific American • Feb. 1, 2011