The tube-snouts are a family, the Aulorhynchidae, of fish related to the stickleback

Stickleback

The Gasterosteidae are a family of fish including the sticklebacks. FishBase currently recognises sixteen species in the family, grouped in five genera. However several of the species have a number of recognised subspecies, and the taxonomy of the family is thought to be in need of revision...

s. There are only two species in the family, each placed in its own genus. Both are found in shallow marine waters, with one living off the west coast of North America, and the other off the coast of Japan.

The fish physically resemble sticklebacks, but are thinner, longer, bodies and about fifteen small spines in front of the dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

. They also possess slender snouts, hence the common name. Like the sticklebacks, they feed on small invertebrates and fish larvae.

Also, like sticklebacks, they produce a sticky secretion from their kidneys when breeding. Whereas sticklebacks use this secretion to bind plant matter together to create a nest, the tube-snouts simply attach their eggs to a substrate. Aulorhynchus attaches its eggs to kelp

Kelp

Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....

, while Aulichthys lays them inside sea squirts.

Species

Family Aulorhynchidae

• Genus Aulichthys
  • Aulichthys japonicus
• Genus Aulorhynchus
  • Aulorhynchus flavidus