Ornate Ghost Pipefish

Photo: terence zahner · CC BY-NC

Ornate ghost pipefish appear among feather stars and soft corals at South Reef from May onward, their extraordinary camouflage rendering them nearly invisible against crinoid fronds until a trained eye picks out their outline. They are not true pipefish but a separate family, and females brood eggs in a ventral pouch formed by fused pelvic fins. Finding a mated pair hovering in perfect mimicry of their host feather star is one of the signature macro encounters of Indo-Pacific reef diving.