# Broadnosed pipefish
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{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Broadnosed pipefish
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =[{{cite iucn |author=Pollom, R. |date=2014 |title=''Syngnathus typhle'' |volume=2014 |article-number=e.T198767A46263316 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T198767A46263316.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}]
| image = Aguja mula (Syngnathus typhle), Xwejni Bay, Gozo, Malta, 2021-08-23, DD 44.jpg
| image2 =Syngnathus typhle Gervais.jpg
| taxon = Syngnathus typhle
| authority = [Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae)
| synonyms ={{Specieslist
|Siphonostoma typhle|([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae))
|Siphostoma typhle|([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae))
|Syngnathus argentatus|[Pallas](/source/Peter_Simon_Pallas), 1814
|Syngnathus pelagicus|[Risso](/source/Antoine_Risso), 1810
|Syngnathus ponticus|[Pallas](/source/Peter_Simon_Pallas), 1814
|Syngnathus pyrois|[Risso](/source/Antoine_Risso), 1827
|Syngnathus rondeletii|[Delaroche](/source/Fran%C3%A7ois-%C3%89tienne_de_La_Roche), 1809
|Syngnathus rotundatus|[Michahelles](/source/Michahelles), 1829
|Syngnathus thyphle|[Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae)
|Syngnathus viridis|[Risso](/source/Antoine_Risso), 1810
|Syphonostoma typhle|([Linnaeus](/source/Carl_Linnaeus), [1758](/source/10th_edition_of_Systema_Naturae))
|Tiphle hexagonus|[Rafinesque](/source/Constantine_Samuel_Rafinesque), 1810
}}
}}
The '''broadnosed pipefish''' or '''deepnosed pipefish''' ('''''Syngnathus typhle''''') is a [fish](/source/fish) of the family [Syngnathidae](/source/Syngnathidae) (seahorses and pipefishes). It is native to the Eastern [Atlantic](/source/Atlantic) ocean from [Vardø](/source/Vard%C3%B8_(town)) in [Norway](/source/Norway), the [Baltic Sea](/source/Baltic_Sea) (north to the [Gulf of Finland](/source/Gulf_of_Finland)) and the [British Isles](/source/British_Isles) in the north all the way to [Morocco](/source/Morocco) at south. It is also found in the [Mediterranean Sea](/source/Mediterranean_Sea), [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea) and [Sea of Azov](/source/Sea_of_Azov). It is common in the coastal shallow waters, usually on reefs with seagrasses. This species is notable for its "broad" snout, which is as deep as its body.
==Description==
The broadnosed pipefish is a slender, elongated fish with a hexagonal cross-section which distinguishes it from its even more threadlike relation the [straightnose pipefish](/source/straightnose_pipefish) (''Nerophis ophidion''), which has a circular cross-section. The body surface is covered by small bony plates. The head resembles that of a seahorse with a long, laterally flattened snout and obliquely sloping mouth. Unlike the straightnose pipefish, it has a fan-shaped caudal fin. The general colour is greenish, often with various darker mottling, and the belly is yellow. The average size is about {{convert|15|to|20|cm|0|abbr=on}} with a maximum of {{convert|25|cm|0|abbr=on}}.[{{cite web |url=http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kalat/broad-nosed-pipefish |title=Broad-nosed pipefish: ''Syngnathus typhle'' (L.) |publisher=NatureGate |access-date=2013-12-19}}]
==Distribution==
The broadnosed pipefish is native to the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Its range extends from [Vardø](/source/Vard%C3%B8_(town)), Norway to Morocco. It is found at depths to about {{convert|20|m|0|abbr=on}}.[{{cite web |url=http://www.fishbase.org/summary/1360 |title=''Syngnathus typhle'' Linnaeus, 1758: Broadnosed pipefish |publisher=FishBase |access-date=2013-12-19}}]
==Biology==
The broadnosed pipefish tends to rest in a vertical position among the fronds of [seaweed](/source/seaweed) and feeds on [plankton](/source/plankton) such as [copepod](/source/copepod)s which it sucks in through its mouth.[
This species of pipefish has a sex-role reversed [mating system](/source/mating_system) in which females compete for access to males.][{{Cite book|last=Berglund|first=Anders|year=2003|title=Sex role reversal in pipefish|journal=Advances in the Study of Behavior|volume=32|pages=131–167|doi=10.1016/S0065-3454(03)01003-9|isbn=978-0-12-004532-7}}] This fish breeds in the summer. The male has a brood pouch into which several females deposit clutches of about twenty eggs and where the eggs are fertilised. The fry hatch after about four weeks and are expelled into the open water. Even after this the male continues to provide some parental care as the fry can retreat into the brood pouch in case of danger.[
== Reproduction ==
=== Courtship and copulation ===
Males and females both actively court one another for mating, but courting is more frequent in females.][{{Cite journal|last1=Anders|first1=Berglund|last2=Widemo|first2=Maria|last3=Rosenqvist|first3=Gunilla|year=2005|title=Sex-role reversal revisited: choosy females and ornamented, competitive males in a pipefish|url=https://oup.silverchair-cdn.com/oup/backfile/Content_public/Journal/beheco/16/3/10.1093_beheco_ari038/3/ari038.pdf?Expires=1489087978&Signature=AJ-ZC3ydHQkNa~hA8sLqrg17AJG7I~T70~linnr~gIBaVLMCL1nAN8MLXdnvAWUWGhf1VCXwIuScs2ysvRn-XOl2o3kkXpys4TMqyszTuEsLxlwzenUqR-fZQL7h2uORn-PmKF7IRSQaSRb~MKFATUX-C80kQWYsthdgTZiI68AOp49Yg5D5zT23LnLwnMkgUEZ4JpM2KqakxwmICz7h3ldZRFtMyn9PDTa59kpuVuJJA8HVzqyd9ROLo~vxShOn9HzWp90NuIroESLHXpmzPq6tFAMDH2XC~eMccdjpA91yO2-xB7oUHjGvMZqTJN49wiYviMERBseTFZvaLJ5Ggg__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIUCZBIA4LVPAVW3Q|journal=Behavioral Ecology|volume=16|issue=3|pages=649–655|doi=10.1093/beheco/ari038|doi-access=free}}] Courtship and [copulation](/source/copulation_(zoology)) follow a stereotyped pattern, beginning when one fish identifies a prospective mate nearby and performs the ritualized dance.[{{Cite web|url=http://www.wwnorton.com/college/biology/animalbehavior2e/ch/06/video02.aspx|title=Pipefish Courtship and Copulation|last=Dugatkin|first=Lee|website=W. W. Norton & Company}}] If the other is receptive, the two align and continue the dance together until the female delivers her eggs into the male's brood pouch via an [ovipositor](/source/ovipositor).[{{Cite journal|last1=Berglund|first1=Anders|last2=Rosenqvist|first2=Gunilla|last3=Svensson|first3=Ingrid|year=1988|title=Multiple Matings and Paternal Brood Care in the Pipefish Syngnathus typhle|journal=Oikos|volume=51|issue=2|pages=184–188|doi=10.2307/3565641|jstor=3565641}}] The male then shakes the eggs into his brood pouch, releases his sperm into the pouch and assumes an S-shaped posture to fertilize the eggs.[{{Cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Adam|last2=Rosenqvist|first2=Gunilla|last3=Berglund|first3=Anders|last4=Avise|first4=John|year=1999|title=The Genetic Mating System of a Sex-Role-Reversed Pipefish (Syngnathus typhle): A Molecular Inquiry|jstor=4601686|journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology|volume=46|issue=5|pages=357–365|doi=10.1007/s002650050630|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0rm1r2jw}}]
Like other species of pipefish, the broadnosed pipefish is sex-role reversed: males brood the eggs and because of their increased investment in offspring are the choosier sex, whereas females compete more intensely than males for access to mates.[{{Cite journal|last1=Goncalves|first1=Ines|last2=Mobley|first2=Kenyon|last3=Ahnesjö|first3=Ingrid|last4=Sagebakken|first4=Gry|last5=Jones|first5=Adam|last6=Kvarnemo|first6=Charlotta|year=2010|title=Reproductive compensation in broad-nosed pipefish females|journal= Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences|volume=277|issue=1687|pages=1581–1587|doi=10.1098/rspb.2009.2290|pmid=20106851|jstor=41148684|pmc=2871843}}][{{Cite journal|last1=Berglund|first1=Anders|last2=Rosenqvist|first2=Gunilla|year=1990|title=Male Limitation of Female Reproductive Success in a Pipefish: Effects of Body-Size Differences|journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology|volume=27|issue=2|pages=129–133|doi=10.1007/bf00168456|jstor=4600455}}] Male brood time is approximately four to six weeks, during which time the male provides oxygen and nutrients to the developing embryos until they hatch.[{{Cite journal|last=Ahnesjö|first=Ingrid|s2cid=34633270|year=1996|title=Apparent Resource Competition among Embryos in the Brood Pouch of a Male Pipefish|journal=Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology|volume=38|issue=3|pages=167–172|doi=10.1007/s002650050229|jstor=4601187}}] One to six females contribute to each brood clutch, which is the highest rate of multiple maternity in all of the pipefish species.[{{Cite journal|last1=Bernet|first1=Patricia|last2=Rosenqvist|first2=Gunilla|last3=Berglund|first3=Anders|year=1998|title=Female-Female Competition Affects Female Ornamentation in the Sex-Role Reversed Pipefish Syngnathus typhle|journal=Behaviour|volume=135|issue=5|pages=535–550|jstor=4535544|doi=10.1163/156853998792897923}}] Large females produce more and larger eggs and transfer more eggs per mating, while large males have increased brood clutch size and embryo weight.[{{Cite journal|last1=Rosenqvist|first1=Gunilla|last2=Johansson|first2=Kerstin|s2cid=53152773|year=1995|title=Male avoidance of parasitized females explained by direct benefits in a pipefish|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=49|issue=4|pages=1039–1045|doi=10.1006/anbe.1995.0133}}]
The pipefish are not always able to mate with their preferred mates. For example, when predators are present, males are less choosy and mate indiscriminately with small and large females.[{{Cite journal|last=Berglund|first=Anders|s2cid=53159104|year=1993|title=Risky sex: male pipefishes mate at random in the presence of a predator|journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=46|pages=169–175|doi=10.1006/anbe.1993.1172}}] However, both sexes can compensate for mating with non-preferred mates. For example, females deposit more proteinaceous eggs when mating with a lower quality male.[{{Cite journal|title=Evolutionary biology: Pregnant fathers in charge|last=Berglund|first=Anders|s2cid=205054408|date=18 March 2010|journal=Nature|volume=464|issue=7287|doi=10.1038/464364a|pmid = 20237558|pages=364–365|bibcode=2010Natur.464..364B|doi-access=free}}] By doing so, the male gains nutrients by ingesting the nutritious egg, which he can then allocate to caring for the embryos he sires with preferred, higher quality females in the future.