Author: Linnaeus, 1758

Syngnathus acus Linnaeus, 1758

Diagnosis: rings 17-21 + 38-43, D 34-45, P 11-15 (usually 11-12), total subdorsal rings 8-10. Snout length more than half head length, median post-orbital portion of head somewhat elevated. Colour: dorsum and side brown to greenish, usually with dark bars on trunk and tail; ventral surface pale to brownish; dorsal fin plain or lightly spotted with brown. Size: to 46 cm TL.

Habitat: coastal and estuarine waters to depths of 90 m or more; on sand, mud and rough bottoms; relatively common amongst algae and eel-grass (Zostera). Food: no data. Reproduction: mostly brooding May-August. Males mature at about 30 cm, with up to 400 or more pouch-eggs (1.6-2.5 mm diameter): early free-living young 24-28 mm TL.

Distribution: the Faroes, the British Isles, Atlantic coasts from Norway southward to Morocco and the Azores, also Mediterranean and Black Seas. Elsewhere, from the Canaries, off Spanish Sahara, Senegambia, and from Namibia to south-eastern South Africa.

Eggs, larvae and young stages. Ehrenbaum, 1909: I 323, fig. 118 | d'Ancona, 1933: 287, pl. XVII (fig. 1), XVIII (fig. 3).
Otoliths (sagitta). No data.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Superclass Gnathostomata
Class Osteichthyes
Order Syngnathiformes
Suborder Sygnathoidei
Family Syngnathidae
Genus Syngnathus
Species Syngnathus acus

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Syngnathus acus Linnaeus, 1758

Scientific synonyms and common names

Syngnathus acus Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms:

Syngnathus Acus Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. X: 337 ('Habitat in Europa').
Syngnathus typhle: Bloch, 1794: 112, pl. 91 (fig.1) (:112 as S. thyple) Risso, 1810: 62.
Syngnathus rubescens Risso, 1810, Ichth. Nice: 66 ('sur la plage de Nice').
Syngnathus acus: Moreau, 1881: 42 Carus, 1893: 532Smitt, 1895: 672 Rauther, 1925: 1, tab. 1, fig. 8 Fowler, 1936: 1271 Lozano Rey, 1947: 641, pl. 13 (fig. 2) Soljan, 1948: 42, fig. Dieuzeide et al., 1954: 160, fig. Albuquerque, 1954-1956: 534, fig. 247 Lanfranco, 1958: 23, fig. Luther & Fiedler, 1961: 40, pl. 11 Wheeler, 1969: 245, fig. Bini, 1969: 155, fig.
Syngnathus rubescens: Poljakov et al., 1958: 212 Lanfranco, 1958: 23.
Syngnathus acus rubescens: Tortonese, 1970: 446, fig. 181A.


Common names:

aiguille de mer [Fr]
great pipefish [En]
kantnaal [No]
mula [Es]
pesce ago [It]
rosse Seenadel [De]
stor tangnål [Da]
syngnathe aiguille [Fr]
grote zeenaald [Ne]

*BIoch, M. E. 1782-1784. Oeconomische Naturgeschichte der Fische Deutschlands, Berlin, 3 vol.: 1, 1782: 258 pp.; 2, 1783: 192 pp.; 3, 1784: 234 pp. (Index common with Bloch, 1785-1795, with numerotation from volume 1 to volume 12), 108 pl.

Albuquerque, R. M. 1954-1956. Peixes de Portugal e ilhas adjacentes. Chavas para a sua determinação. Port. Acta biol., ser. B, 5: xvi+1167 pp., 445 fig.

Ancona, U. d'. 1933c. Gadidae, Berycoidei, Lampridae. In: Uova, larve e stadi giovanili di Teleostei. Fauna Flora Golfo Napoli, 38 :178-255, 280-306, fig. 167-226, 240-244, pl. XII-XV, XVII-XVIII.

Bini, G. 1967-1972. Atlante dei pesci delle Coste italiane. Mondo Sommerso, Milano, 9 vol: I, 1967, Leptocardi, Ciclostomi, Selaci, 206 pp., 66 fig. + 64 col. fig. II, 1971, Osteitti (Acipenseriformi, Clupeiformi, Mictofiformi, Anguilliformi), 300 pp., 73 col. fig. III, 1970, Notacantiformi . . . Zeiformi, 229 pp., 34 fig. + 63 col. fig. IV, 1968, Perciformi (Mugiloidei, Percoidei), 163 pp., 34 fig. + 49 col. fig. V, 1968, Perciformi (Percoidei), 175 pp., 22 fig. + 56 col. fig. VI, 1968, Perciformi (Trichiuroidei . . . Blennioidei), 177 pp., 48 fig + 57 col. fig. VII,1969, Perciformi (Ofidioidei . . . Dactilopteroidei), 196 pp., 57 fig. + 59 col. fig. VIII,1968, Pleuronettiformi, Echeniformi, Gobioesociformi, Tetraodontiformi, Lofiformi, 164 pp., 34 + 63 fig. IX, 1972, Introduzione. Parte generale. Aggiornamenti. Indici. 176 p.

Carus, J. V. 1893. Vertebrata. 1. class. Pisces: pp. 498-711, In: Prodromus faunae Mediterraneae sive Descriptio Animalium Maris Mediterranei incolarum quam comparata silva rerum quatenus innotuit adiectis locis et nominibus vulgaribus. . . Stuttgart, 1889-1893, 2: ix+854 pp.

Dieuzeide, R.; Novella, M. (collab. J. Roland), 1953-1955. Catalogue des Poissons des Côtes algériennes. Bull. Stn Aquic. Pêch. Castiglione, I (n.s.), (4), 1952 [1953]: pp. 1-135, 73 fig. n. num.; II (n.s.), (5), 1953 [1954]: pp. 1-258, 135 fig. n. num.; III (n.s.), (6), 1954 [1955]: pp. 1-384, 202 fig. n. num.

Ehrenbaum, E. 1905-1909. Eier und Larven von Fischen der Nordischen Planktons, Teil I, 1905, 4: iv + I 1-I 216 + iii, fig. 1-82; Teil II, 1909, 10: I 217-I 413, fig. 83-147.

Fowler, H. W. 1936. The Marine Fishes of West Africa, based on the collection of the American Museum Congo Expedition 1909-1915. Bull. am. Mus. nat. Hist., 70 (1), Jan. 21, 1936: pp. vii+1-606, fig. 1-275; (2), Nov. 18, 1936: pp. 607-1493, fig. 276-567.

Lanfranco, G. 1958. A complete guide to the fishes of Malta. Malta, 74 pp., 41 pl.

Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae, ed. X, vol. 1, 824 pp. Nantes & Pisces: pp. 230-338. (Reprint, 1956, London.)

Lozano y Rey, L. 1947. Peces Ganoideos y Fisostomos, Mems R. Acad. Cienc. exact. fis. nat. Madr., ser.: Cienc. Nat., 11: xv + 839 p., 190 fig., 20 pl.

Luther, W.; Fiedler, K. 1961. Die Unterwasserfauna der Mittelmeerküsten. Hamburg-Berlin, Parey ed.: 253 pp., 28 fig., 46 pl.

Moreau, E. 1881-1891. Histoire naturelle des poissons de la France, Paris, I, 1881: pp. I-VII+1-480, fig. 1-82; II, 1881: pp. 1-572, fig. 83-145; III, 1881: pp. 1-697, fig. 146-220; Suppl., 1891: pp. 1-144, fig. 221-227.

Poljakov, G. D.; Filipi, N. D.; Basho, K. 1958. Peshgit e Shgiperise. [Fish of Albania], Tirane, 286 pp.

Rauther, M. 1925. Die Syngnathiden des Golfes von Neapel. Publ. Staz. zool. Napoli, 36: 365 p., 62 fig., 24 pl.

Risso, A. 1810. Ichthyologie de Nice, ou histoire naturelle des poissons du département des Alpes Maritimes. Paris, xxxvi+388 pp., 11 pl. (Reprint, 1966, Asher, Amsterdam.)

Smitt, F. A. 1893-1895. (ed.) A history of Scandinavian fishes, Stockholm and Paris, Atlas, I, 1893, pl. i-xxvii.

Soljan, T. 1948. Fauna i flora jadrana. 1. Ribe Inst. Oceanogr. Ribarst. Jugoslavia. Zagreb, Hrvatske, 437 pp., 1350 fig.

Tortonese, E. 1970e. Osteichthyes (Pesci ossei), Parte Prima. Fauna Ital., 10, Calderini, Bologna, 565 pp., 198 fig.

Wheeler, A. 1969. The Fishes of the British Isles and North-West Europe. Macmillan, London, Melbourne and Toronto: pp. i-xvii+1-163, 5+177 fig., 392 fig. (princ. sp.), 92 n. num. fig., 16 pl., maps.

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