Syngnathus abaster Risso, 1827

Saad, Adib, Çiçek, Erdoğan, Esmaeili, Hamid Reza, Fricke, Ronald, Sungur, Sevil & Eagderi, Soheil, 2023, Freshwater fishes of Syria: a revised and updated annotated checklist- 2023, Zootaxa 5350 (1), pp. 1-62 : 37

Syngnathus abaster Risso, 1827 [N]—Blackstripe pipefish; None

Taxonomy. Original description: Syngnathus abaster Risso, 1827: 182 [probably Nice, France, northwest Mediterranean Sea; no types known].—Syrian synonyms: None.—Revisions: None.—Illustration: Dawson in Whitehead et al. (1986: 635, fig.).

Status in Syria. First record from Syria by Saad (2005).—Syrian material: MSL.

Distribution and habitat. Distribution in Syria: Mediterranean watersheds.—Distribution in River Basin: 6- Coastal.—General distribution: Mediterranean Sea; Sea of Marmara; Black Sea; eastern Atlantic: Bay of Biscay south to Portugal, including Azores.—Distribution in Ecoregion: 436-Coastal Levant.—Habitat: This species inhabits a wide range of marine, brackish, and freshwater habitats and is mostly associated with dense submerged vegetation but is also found on open mud bottom substrates. Freshwater, brackish, marine.

Economic importance. No commercial importance.

Conservation. Conservation status in Syria: Unknown.—IUCN: LC ( IUCN 2023).—Threats: There are no major threats known to be impacting this species.—Low sensitivity to human activities.—Not considered as a keystone species.—Decline status: Unknown.—Low priority for conservation action.