Volume 39, Plate XIX / Ichthyology (Fish)

Equoreal Pipe, or Needle-Fish & Short-Nosed Sea-Horse

Acestra æquorea & Hippocampus brevirostris

1. Equoreal Pipe, or Needle-Fish. First noticed as British in Sibbald’s Scotia Illustrata from a Firth of Forth specimen, where it has not been taken since, the Equoreal Pipe is very rare. Examples have been afforded by the Berwickshire, Northumberland, and Devonshire coasts and one or two other places, and the Cornish fishermen report seeing it far out at sea, swimming at the surface over depths exceeding fifty fathoms.
2. Short-Nosed Sea-Horse. Very rare and found chiefly in the south of England, the Short-Nosed Sea-Horse swims in a vertical position with its tail ready to grasp any object. When two meet they twist their tails together and struggle, raising the body by the chin to seek a fresh hold; the eyes move independently as in the chameleon, and a brilliant changeable iridescence with blue bands about the head heightens the resemblance to that animal.