A ridge along the snout separates it from the larger, leafier winged pipefish.
To about 12 cm, mottled in brown, cream and white, with a raised bony ridge running along the top of the snout, which is what the common name refers to, and scattered fleshy flaps along the body and head. The winged pipefish, Halicampus macrorhynchus, is the animal it is confused with: that species is larger, to about 18 cm, with a longer snout and much bigger leaf-like appendages, particularly around the head. Both lie still against broken bottom and both are found by scanning rather than by catching movement, so the snout is worth looking at before the body pattern.
Rubble, coral bases and the edges of sand patches from about 2 to 25 m, usually lying among broken coral rather than out on open sand. Solitary or in loose pairs. It relies on stillness and will hold position while a diver settles beside it, which makes it approachable once found, and the same habit is why it is passed over. Males carry the eggs on the underside of the tail. Colour varies with the bottom, and pale fish on coral rubble and dark fish on volcanic sand are the same species.
Ratings are per location: 1 means found on most dives that look for it, 5 means a handful of records. Where enough dives have been logged the figure is calculated from them; otherwise it is an editorial estimate, and says so. We publish habitat and destination, not the dive site.