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Standardised Classification Of Pre-Release Development In Male-Brooding Pipefish, Seahorses, And Seadragons (Family Syngnathidae), Stefan Sommer, Camilla M. Whittington, Anthony B. Wilson
Standardised Classification Of Pre-Release Development In Male-Brooding Pipefish, Seahorses, And Seadragons (Family Syngnathidae), Stefan Sommer, Camilla M. Whittington, Anthony B. Wilson
Publications and Research
Background: Members of the family Syngnathidae share a unique reproductive mode termed male pregnancy. Males carry eggs in specialised brooding structures for several weeks and release free-swimming offspring. Here we describe a systematic investigation of pre-release development in syngnathid fishes, reviewing available data for 17 species distributed across the family. This work is complemented by in-depth examinations of the straight-nosed pipefish Nerophis ophidion, the black-striped pipefish Syngnathus abaster, and the potbellied seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis.
Results: We propose a standardised classification of early syngnathid development that extends from the activation of the egg to the release of newborn. The classification consists …