Rudie Hermann Kuiter, Aquatic Photographics, Australien
Info
Kaupus costatus is a reddish to reddish-brown sea needle with tiny blue, yellow, and white spots on the back and fine wavy lines on the head and tail.
Females have a deep body structure with bluish stripes, bars, and small ocelli above the lateral dorsum of the trunk and conspicuous blue markings on each proboscis ring below the lateral dorsum.
Unique to adult females is the greatly elongated proboscis.
Subadult and adult males sometimes have a narrow, nearly black, mid-length stripe on the anterior half of the tail.
Adult females have bluish stripes, bars, and small ocelli above the lateral dorsum of the trunk and with conspicuous blue on each proboscis ring below the lateral dorsum.
This species of pipefish breeds in late spring and summer, and the fertilized eggs are hatched by the male in a closed pouch on the underside of the tail just behind the anal fin.
The pouch has thick skin and folds along the ventral midline with overlapping and interlocking pouch flaps that completely cover the developing eggs.
Etymology:
The council name derives from the Latin "costatus" (= ribbed), possibly in reference to the bars on the side of the females.
The genus name "Kaupus" was chosen in honor of the ichthyologist Johann Jakob Kaup (1803-1873).
Kaupus costatus inhabits sheltered intertidal and shallow areas of algae and seagrass beds and mangroves, this sea needle is most commonly found under the seagrass Zostera.
Synonym: Leptonotus costatus Waite & Hale, 1921
Females have a deep body structure with bluish stripes, bars, and small ocelli above the lateral dorsum of the trunk and conspicuous blue markings on each proboscis ring below the lateral dorsum.
Unique to adult females is the greatly elongated proboscis.
Subadult and adult males sometimes have a narrow, nearly black, mid-length stripe on the anterior half of the tail.
Adult females have bluish stripes, bars, and small ocelli above the lateral dorsum of the trunk and with conspicuous blue on each proboscis ring below the lateral dorsum.
This species of pipefish breeds in late spring and summer, and the fertilized eggs are hatched by the male in a closed pouch on the underside of the tail just behind the anal fin.
The pouch has thick skin and folds along the ventral midline with overlapping and interlocking pouch flaps that completely cover the developing eggs.
Etymology:
The council name derives from the Latin "costatus" (= ribbed), possibly in reference to the bars on the side of the females.
The genus name "Kaupus" was chosen in honor of the ichthyologist Johann Jakob Kaup (1803-1873).
Kaupus costatus inhabits sheltered intertidal and shallow areas of algae and seagrass beds and mangroves, this sea needle is most commonly found under the seagrass Zostera.
Synonym: Leptonotus costatus Waite & Hale, 1921
