The ornate ghost pipefish or harlequin ghost pipefish, Solenostomus paradoxus, is a pipefish of the family Solenostomidae. The species name comes from the greek paradoxos, referring to this fish's unusual external features. Ornate ghost pipefish are found in the Western Pacific and the Indian ocean along reef edges prone to strong currents. They reach a maximum length of 12 cm. They vary in color from red, yellow to black and are almost transparent. They feed mostly on mysids and benthic shrimp. Females carry the eggs in their pelvic fins that are modified to form a brood pouch .
The IUCN conservation status of Solenostomus paradoxus has not been evaluated.
Famous quotes containing the words ornate and/or ghost:
““Have we any control over being born?,” my friend asked in despair. “No, the job is done for us while we’re sleeping, so to speak, and when we wake up everything is all set. We merely appear, like an ornate celebrity wheeled out in a wheelchair.” “I don’t remember,” my friend claimed. “No need to,” I said: “what need have us free-loaders for any special alertness? We’re done for.””
—Marvin Cohen, U.S. author and humorist. The Self-Devoted Friend, New Directions (1967)
“A fig for
The seal of fire,
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We make me mystic as the arm of air,
The two-a-vein, the foreskin, and the cloud.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)