Syngnathidae Bonaparte 1831

Family Syngnathidae Bonaparte 1831 View in CoL View at ENA ( Fig. 3H View FIGURE 3 ). Pipefishes; Peces Pipa

Description: Body long, slender, extremely elongated in some taxa, encased in an armor of ring-like, bony segments; up to 30 cm in length; mouth small, without teeth, at the end of a long tubular snout; gill opening very small, restricted to the top corner of the operculum; pectoral, dorsal, anal and/or caudal fins usually present; pelvic fins absent ( Robertson & Allen 2015, Nelson et al. 2016). Distribution: Marine and brackish water, some species in freshwater; Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans ( Nelson et al. 2016). Two genera and four species in Nicaraguan freshwaters.