v14i2.387

eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v14i2.387

Submitted date: 1 January 2025
Accepted date: 22 July 2025
Published date: 28 November 2025
Pp. 313–317.

Seahorses and pipefishes of Sri Lanka (Teleostei: Syngnathidae)

J. Bandara, M.P. Gunawardena & C. Weerakoon*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: chamodyalk5@gmail.com

Sri Lanka, situated within the biodiversity-rich Indo-Pacific, is recognized as a hotspot for marine and freshwater fish diversity. Although numerous new teleost species have been described from the island in recent decades, the family Syngnathidae, which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and pygmy pipehorses, remains poorly documented. Despite early taxonomic contributions, such as those by Duncker (1910), who described the pipefish species Siokunichthys southwelli and Microphis ocellatus from ‘Ceylon’, modern systematic studies on Sri Lanka’s syngnathid fauna are lacking. Given the morphological complexity of this group and the potential for cryptic species, a comprehensive taxonomic synthesis is overdue. Accurate field identification of syngnathid species in Sri Lanka is further complicated by the lack of region-specific diagnostic tools and the morphological conservatism typical of the group. Foundational works, including Dawson (1985), provide broad Indo-Pacific coverage but are not tailored to the local fauna.

Section Editor: Upali S. Amarasinghe