Family : Pegasidae (Seamoths)
Order : Gasterosteiformes  (sticklebacks and seamoths)
Class : Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Fishbase Name :
Fish Name : Pegasus laternarius
Max size : 8.0 cm SL (male/unsexed; Ref. 1418)
Environment : demersal ; depth range 30 - 100 m
Climate : tropical; 37°N - 5°N
Global Importance :
Resilience: Distribution: Distribution : Indo-West Pacific: Gulf of Manaar, Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific (Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea, along the coast of southern China and Taiwan, extending as far north as Suruga Bay, Japan).
Diagnosis : Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5-5; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 5-5; Vertebrae: 20-20. It has a variety of colors and can be dull to bright yellow or blue (Ref. 48635). Preserved body dark brown dorsally and laterally; lighter ventrally. Species with 4 pairs of dorsolateral body plates; 5 pairs ventrolateral body plates; deep pits on dorsal surface of head and within interorbital depression absent; 11 or more tail rings with 9th and 10th fused; suborbital shelf convex, obscuring eye from ventral view; last tail ring without spine on dorsal surface. 5th rays of pectorals stout, much thicker than other rays. No scales on orbit. Distal margin of dorsal and anal fins oblique to horizontal axis of body. Readily identified by its rather short rostrum when juvenile or female; it is more developed in males (Ref. 48635).
Biology : Adults lives on muddy bottoms, often collected at depths of about 50 m; larvae are planktonic. Rarely seen diving, except a few localities in Japan where they occur in sheltered muddy habitats (Ref. 48635)
Threatened : Dangerous:  
Dangerous : harmless
Coordinator :
Main Ref : Palsson, W.A. and T.W. Pietsch. 1989. (Ref. 1418)

India country information
Common Names : [ No common name ]
Status : native
Salinity : marine
Uses : no uses