Rudie Hermann Kuiter, Aquatic Photographics, Australien
Info
Vanacampus phillipi is a brownish sea needle with indistinct stripes and spots.
Females have blue stripes on the upper side and along the tail, especially larger specimens.
The underside of the head of females usually has irregular dark spots or stripes, while in adult males it is pale.
In adult males, the lower half of the operculum and the underside of the head are usually pale.
The pipefish feeds during the day on small benthic crustaceans on the substrate, for example, calanoid copepods and gammarid amphipods (also caprellid amphipods, isopods and ostracods, tiny carid crustaceans, polychaetes and nematodes, and foraminifera). Mysid crustaceans are an important food source for juveniles.
Habitat:
Vanacampus phillipi commonly inhabits seagrass beds (including Halophila, Heterozostera, Posidonia, Ruppia, and Zostera) and macroalgae in shallow estuaries, coastal lagoons, and sheltered bays.
Similar species:
The Port Phillip sea needle is most similar to Vanacampus margaritifer, with overlap in meristic characteristics and geographic range.
Vanacampus phillipi differs from Vanacampus margaritifer in that it generally has a greater number of tail rings (38-46 versus 34-38), and adults lack the regular arrangement of bright spots on the proboscis rings found in Vanacampus phillipi; instead, larger adults have blue stripes on the sides.
In addition, Vanacampus phillipi tends to have a shorter snout and breeding males tend to carry fewer fertilized eggs (
Females have blue stripes on the upper side and along the tail, especially larger specimens.
The underside of the head of females usually has irregular dark spots or stripes, while in adult males it is pale.
In adult males, the lower half of the operculum and the underside of the head are usually pale.
The pipefish feeds during the day on small benthic crustaceans on the substrate, for example, calanoid copepods and gammarid amphipods (also caprellid amphipods, isopods and ostracods, tiny carid crustaceans, polychaetes and nematodes, and foraminifera). Mysid crustaceans are an important food source for juveniles.
Habitat:
Vanacampus phillipi commonly inhabits seagrass beds (including Halophila, Heterozostera, Posidonia, Ruppia, and Zostera) and macroalgae in shallow estuaries, coastal lagoons, and sheltered bays.
Similar species:
The Port Phillip sea needle is most similar to Vanacampus margaritifer, with overlap in meristic characteristics and geographic range.
Vanacampus phillipi differs from Vanacampus margaritifer in that it generally has a greater number of tail rings (38-46 versus 34-38), and adults lack the regular arrangement of bright spots on the proboscis rings found in Vanacampus phillipi; instead, larger adults have blue stripes on the sides.
In addition, Vanacampus phillipi tends to have a shorter snout and breeding males tend to carry fewer fertilized eggs (
