Microphis spinachioides (Duncker, 1915)
Spinach pipefish, Spinach River pipefish
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Doryichthys spinachioides Duncker, 1915
Conservation Status
Globally Rediscovered (Anonymous, 2026)
IUCN RedList status: Data Deficient
Distribution & Habitat
Papua New Guinea (May, Ramu & Sepik Rivers)
Anatomy & Morphology
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Duncker, G. (1915). Revision der Syngnathidae. Erster Teil. Mitteilungen aus dem Naturhistorischen (Zoologischen) Museum in Hamburg 32: 9-120.
Other references:
Allen, G. R. (1991). Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guniea.
Allen, G. R. and Sorensen, M. (2012). Microphis spinachioides. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T13392A512698. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T13392A512698.en. Accessed on 29 August 2026.
Anonymous. (2026, August 24). One of the World’s ‘Most Wanted’ Lost Fish Is Rediscovered [news story]. YaleEnvironment360. Available at: https://e360.yale.edu/digest/spinach-pipefish-rediscovered?utm_id=97757_v0_s00_e0_tv2_a1demonif2d2eb [Accessed on 29 August 2026]
Coates, D. (1993). Fish ecology and management of the Sepik-Ramu, New Guinea, a large contemporary tropical river basin. Environ. Biol. Fish. 38(4): 345-368.
Dawson, C. E. (1984). Review of the genus Microphis (Pisces: Syngnathidae). Bulletin of Marine Science 18: 117-181.
Dawson, C. E. (1985). Indo-Pacific Pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Ocean Springs, Mississippi, USA.
Groombridge, B. (ed.). (1994). 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
Herre, A. W. C. T. (1940). Mosquito larvae as pipe-fish food. Copeia 1940(3): 203.
Kendrick, A. J. and Hyndes, G. A. (2005). Variations in the dietary compositions of morphologically diverse syngnathid fishes. Environmental Biology of Fishes 72: 415-427.
Kuiter, R. H. (2000). Seahorses, pipefishes and their relatives: a comprehensive guide to Syngnathiformes..
Pollom, R. (2017). Microphis spinachioides. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T13392A67620733. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T13392A67620733.en. Accessed on 29 August 2026.
Shearman, P. and Bryan, J. (2011). A bioregional analysis of the distribution of rainforest cover, deforestation and degradation in Papua New Guinea. Austral Ecology 36: 9-24.
Sorensen, M. and Allen, G. R. (2010). Microphis spinachioides. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T13392A3879859. Accessed on 29 August 2026.
Swales, S., Storey, A. W. and Bakowa, K. A. (2000). Temporal and spatialvariations in fish catches in the Fly River system in Papua New Guinea and the possible effects of the Ok Tedi copper mine. Environmental biology of fishes 57: 75-95.
Vincent, A. C. J., Foster, S. J. and Koldewey, H. J. (2011). Conservation and management of seahorses and other Syngnathidae. Journal of Fish Biology 78: 1681-1724.
https://shoal.org/search-for-the-lost-fishes/spinach-pipefish/