Madeira Canary Islands Azores – Fishes Dr. Peter Wirtz

Up to 15 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 5 – 600 m depth.
The very long snout makes this species unmistakeable. Young animals form large silvery schools in the open
water. Adults are a red-silvery colour and live in small groups over the bottom. Frequently they swim head-
down. Snipefish occasionally swim in mixed groups with Boarfish. Photo Peter Wirtz.
Trumpet fishes (Aulostomidae)
Trumpetfish (Aulostomus strigosus)
Up to 75 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands. 10 – ? m depth.
There are only three species in the family Trumpet fishes. Aulostomus strigosus lives in the Eastern Atlantic
and – like many other tropical species - reaches its northern limit at Madeira. Trumpet fishes are predators that
feed on small fish and crustaceans. The long, thin, elongated snout enables them to reach into narrow cracks,
that are unreachable for other predatory fish. The colour is quite variable, from red-brown and yellow to grey.
Photo Peter Wirtz.
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Pipefish and Seahorses (Syngnathidae)
Short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus)
Up to 12 cm long. Madeira, Canary Islands, Azores. 3 – 30 m depth.
At Madeira and the Canary Islands only this sea horse species can be seen whereas at the Azores one may also
see the Long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus), which reaches 14 cm length and frequently has
small white spots. Both are quite variable in colour. In summer, they come into shallow water. In pipefishes