Description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 5; Vertebrae: 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).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Dactylopteriformes

Family: Pegasidae

Genus: Pegasus

Species: Pegasus laternarius Cuvier, 1816

Climate Zone

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).

Habitat

demersal

Conservation Status

Data deficient

Threat to Humans

Harmless