Fistularia petimba, (better known as a red cornetfish) is a pipefish weighing barely 4,650- 5,846 g., with a length of 200 cm (2 m) long. It has a variety of color, which ranges in pink, pale brown, yellow, and a greenish tinge. Some characteristics are its silvery underside, bony plates along the midline, and its long tubular snout, which by the way, makes up a quarter of its length.

 

The red cornetfish is usually found along somewhere coastal. This is a good place for them, considering their need for soft bottoms. You might spot them in: Japan, the Atlantic, the Indian and Pacific Ocean, and Hawaii. They are also common in waters around Taiwan. Also, scientists have recently discovered that they’ve migrated all the way to the Mediterranean, via canals.

 

The population of the cornetfish colony looked next to nothing when they began multiplying rapidly. Its size has gone up from 150- 460 in a short amount of time. Reproduction is the main contributor of this growth. Considering how small the red cornetfish is, they don’t have a very big variety of food. They mainly stick to small fish and shrimp- although; there is a predator after them, the macrofauna.

 

To avoid being eaten by this predator, the Fistularia petimba often rides on top of other species, and they also use camouflage. Some things that stood out to me while researching this animal were that they enjoy the close encounter of scuba divers. I learned that this fish is absolutely harmless. I also learned how they reproduce. They have a whip-like tail, dorsal, and anal fins. They are also similar to a trumpet fish.

 

Author: Francesca D.

Published: 01/2009

 

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fistularia petimba http://discoverlife.org http://fishbases.sinica.edu.tw http://globalcuts.comhttp://haaretz.com Eyewitness books: Fish

 

Photo Credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Fistularia_commersonii1.jpg /300px-Fistularia_commersonii1.jpg