Syngnathus temminckii (longsnout pipefish) is the most common pipefish in southern African estuaries, ranging from Walvis Bay (Namibia) to the Tugela River on the east coast of South Africa.Heemstra, P.C. (2004) Coastal Fishes of Southern Africa. NISC (PTY) LTD
The fish is named in honor of Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778–1858), the director of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), where the type specimens are housed.
Biology This species is common in estuaries, usually in eelgrass beds, but has also been found offshore to depths of . Sexual maturity is reached at , and breeding occurs from March to November. Males carry the developing embryos in a brood pouch on their belly.
Taxonomy Syngnathus temminckii was until 2013 synonymised with the European species S. acus (greater pipefish), but morphological data show that it is distinct.Mwale, M., Kaiser, H., Barker, N.P., Wilson, A.B. & Teske, P.R. (2013) Identification of a uniquely southern African clade of coastal pipefishes Syngnathus spp.. Journal of Fish Biology 82: 2045-2062 Genetic data further indicate that it is not even the sister taxon of S. acus, but of another southern African species, the critically endangered estuarine pipefish, S. watermeyeri.
See also Long-snouted pipefish, Stigmatopora macropterygia A. H. A. Duméril 1870. Longsnout pipefish, Leptonotus norae Waite 1910.
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