English Name: Redtailed pipefish
Family: SYNGNATHIDAE
Local Name: Venu bandeyri
Order: Gasterosteiformes
Size: Max. 20 cm
Specimen: MRS/0022/86
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 23-33 rays. Trunk rings 16-18; tail rings 32-37. Usually about 14 bars formed by groups of stripes or reticulations. Superior trunk and tail ridges discontinuous. Lateral trunk ridges straight, ending near anal ring. Inferior trunk and tail ridges continuous.
Colour: Light yellowish grey. Body with darkbandscomprising small longitudinal lines, sometimes spreadin on to dorsal surface. Caudal fin usually light red.
Habitat and Biology: Common on sandy reef slopes. Often in small groups.
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific.
Remarks: Corythoichthys haernatopterus is of little interest among the aquarists. This species was previously recorded as C. intestina/is in the Catalogue of Fishes of Maldives, Vol.1, page 144.