English Name: Bluestripe pipefish
Family: SYNGNATHIDAE
Local Name: Noorongu venu bandeyri
Order: Gasterosteiformes
Size: Max. 8 cm
Specimen: MRS/0244/88
Distinctive Characters: Dorsal fin with 21-29 rays. Body rings 17-19. Tail rings 13-17. Subdorsal trunk rings 3-5. Superior trunk and tail ridges discontinuous; inferior trunk ridge ending on anal ring; lateral trunk ridge continuous with inferior tail ridge.
Colour: Bluish midlateral stripe on orange to reddish background and small fan like tail.
Habitat and Biology: Occurs in reef crevices.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific.
Remarks: D. excisus ahhreviatus is the Red Sea subspecies. The closely related Doryrhamphus bicarinatus has recently been recorded from the Maldives.