344 
U. S. P R. R. EXP, AND SURVEYS-ZOOLOGY-GENERAL REPORT. 
Syn. — Syngnathidae, Bonap. Sagg. Distr. metod. Anim. Vertebr., 1831,119.— DeKay, New Y. Faun. IV, 1842, 319.— Storer, 
Rep. Fish, Mass. 1839,162; &, Synops. 1846, 238.— Owes, Lect Comp. Anafc. Vertebr. Anim. 1846, 50.— 
Bd. Iconogr. Encycl. II, 1850, 232. 
On either coast of North America the genus Syngnathus is the only one of the family which 
has furnished us with representatives. They have been observed from the coast of Massachusetts 
to the Gulf of Mexico, and from San Diego, California, to Puget’s Sound, Washington Territory. 
SYNGNATHUS, Artedi. 
Gen. Char. —Body elongated, slender, heptangular; tail slender, elongated, tapering, and quadrangular, continuous with the 
body, and longer than the body and head together. Body and tail both covered with indurated parallelogramic plates, arranged 
in longitudinal and parallel series, with a slight longitudinal and crested ridge along their middle. Head elongated, slender, and 
sub-cylindrical, in a direct line with the body. Opercular apparatus large; branchial apertures small. One singe dorsal 
fin ; one caudal, posteriorly rounded or convex; no ventrals ; a vestige of an anal in the female sex. Pectorals broad and short- 
Syn. — Syngnathus, Art. Gen. Pise. 1738; &, ed. Walbaumi, 1792,1 — Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. X a 1,1758, 336.—Cuv. R6gn. 
Anim. II, 1817, 156; 2d ed. II, 1829; &, ed. illustr. Poiss. 330. —Storer, Rep. Fish. Mass. 1839, 162; 
&, Synops. 1846, 238.— DeKay, New Y. Faun. IV, 1842, 319.— Dum. Ichth. analyt. 1856, 171. 
The pipe-fish ( Syngnathus ) assume a horizontal position in the medium in which they live 
as usual in the class of fishes. Their onward movements depending chiefly upon the exertion 
of the dorsal and pectoral fins, which are the propelling organs ; the caudal playing the part of 
a rudder. 
1. SYNGNATHUS CALIFORNIENSIS, Storer. 
Californian Pipe-Fish. 
Spec. Char. —Head contained seven times in the total length; a little short of twice in that of the body. Anterior rim of 
the orbit nearer the insertion of the pectoral fins than the apex of the snout. Longitudinal diameter of the orbit entering nine 
times and a half in the length of the side of the head. Origin of dorsal fin situated opposite the anterior edge of the vent; its 
base in the male sex entering twice in the length of the body, from the concavity of the thoracic belt to the vent. Dark reddish 
brown; yellowish beneath ; lower portion of the sides dashed with white. 
Syn. — Syngnathus californiensis, Storer, in Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. II, 1845, 73; &, Synops. 1846, 272.— Grd. in Proc. 
Acad. Nac. Sc. Philad. VIII, 1856,137. 
Syngnathus grisolinsatus, Ayres, in Proc. Cal. Acad. Nat. Sc. I, Dec. 1854, 14. 
Having had an opportunity of studying either sex of this species comparatively, the characters 
assigned to it have thus served as a standard towards the discrimination of the following 
species, some of which being based upon male, others upon female specimens alone. 
The largest specimens before us measure over eleven inches in total length; the head forming 
the seventh part of it. Nineteen plates may he counted anteriorly to the vent, and forty-two 
posterior to it; the vent itself occupying one intermediate plate. The base of the dorsal fin 
of the female sex entering twice and a half times on the distance between the concavity of the 
thoracic belt and the posterior edge of the anal aperture ; its posterior margin in either sex 
being nearer the extremity of the caudal than the apex of the snout; much, more so in the 
female than in the male. The length of the sub-caudal pouch being equal to the distance 
between the vent and the anterior third of the snout. 
D 38; A3; C 1, 4, 4, 1 ; Y 0 ; P 12 or 13. 
The color of the upper regions are dark reddish brown, somewhat lighter on the flanks, the 
lower part of which are dashed with whitish. The inferior regions are yePowish white 
maculated with brownish. 
