Stephanie Tuttle

Southeastern Divers, Inc.

908-A Bob Wallace Ave. Huntsville Alabama 35801 - Phone: 256-536-8404

"Training the best divers in North Alabama since 1980."

(ed. note) Stephanie Tuttle is an avid diver, instructor, traveler and photographer. Stephanie has graciously offered to provide a monthly article on marine life for our newsletter and website.

Stephanie Tuttle - Photographer

Featured Creature – The Ornate Ghost Pipefish

Found in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean, Ornate ghost pipefish (a.k.a harlequin ghost pipefish) are fascinating creatures. They reach a maximum length of 5 inches, feed mostly on mysids and benthic shrimp and often associate with crinoids (feather stars). Their colors and the skin appendages typically resemble those of their crinoid home, which helps them blend in and avoid the attention of predators. This is important because they are virtually defenseless. Adults of this species regularly occur in pairs - the female is larger than its mate. While they are close relatives of the seahorses and pipefishes, the females, not the males, of the ghost pipefish species hold the eggs. The female forms a pouch with her large pelvic fins in to which the eggs are deposited and the male then fertilizes the eggs in this pouch. A fascinating thing happens after the eggs enter the pouch. Branching stalks develop from the skin (known as cotylephores) and the ends of these structures adhere to the eggs! It is thought that they act like an umbilical cord, to transfer nutrients from the female to the developing eggs and facilitate gas exchange. When you find a pair of ornate ghost pipefish, watch the female. Examine her pelvic fins. If the sides of the fins are protruding, it is likely she is carrying eggs. If you watch carefully, you should see her ventilate the eggs (she opens and closes the rear edge of the pouch to irrigate the eggs with fresh seawater) and you should be able to see the eggs.

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Best viewed with 1024 x 768 screen resolution. This page was last updated on 12/16/2011.