Solenostomidae

Solenostomidae

 

a family of marine fishes of the order Solenichthyes. The short body, which measures up to 11 cm in length, is laterally compressed and covered with bony plates. The snout is tube-shaped. There are two dorsal fins. The Solenostomidae include five species, distributed in warm seas of the Indian and western Pacific oceans. They live among growths of algae near the shore. The female carries the eggs in a brood pouch, which is formed by the concrescence of the ventral fins with the skin of the belly.