The only member of the family Aulorhynchidae, the tubesnout (Aulorhynchus flavidus) can very easily be mistaken for a pipefish. It’s elongated body and snout make for a striking resemblance. The species swims in schools and lives in northeastern Pacific waters off the coasts of North America.

The snipefish family, Macrorhamphosidae, originally consisted of two species. More recent genetic studies have revealed that in fact one of the species is actually the juvenile form of the one true species, Macrorhamphosus scolopax. These tall but slender fish have elongated snouts that allow them to feed off of crustaceans.

The closely related Centriscidae (some authors treat the Macrorhamphosidae as part of the Centriscidae) also have flattened bodies. They often orient vertically in the water column, mimicking coral or seagrasses, for camouflage from predators and prey alike. The Centriscidae are present around the world in tropical and subtropical waters.

Aulorhynchidae (Tube-snout)
Photo	Name, Authority	Common Name(s)	IUCN Red List Status	Profile	Range
	Aulorhynchus flavidus Gill 1861	Tube-snout	LC		NE Pacific
Macrorhamphosidae (Snipefishes)
Photo	Name (Authority)	Common Name(s)	Red List Status	Profile	Range
	M. scolopax, (Linneaus 1758)	Longspine snipefish	LC		Atlantic, Indo-Pacific
Centriscidae (Bellowfishes)
Photo	Name (Authority)	Common Name(s)	Red List Status	Profile	Range
	Aeoliscus punctulatus (Bianconi 1854)	Shrimpfish, speckled shrimpfish	DD		Western Indian Ocean
	A. strigatus (Gunther 1861)	Razorfish	DD		Indo-Pacific
	Centriscops humerosus (Richardson 1846)	Banded bellowsfish, banded snipefish	LC		Circumglobal in s. temperate oceans
	C. cristatus (De Vis 1885)	Smooth razorfish	DD		Indo-Pacific
	C. scutatus Linnaeus 1758	Grooved razorfish, grooved shrimpfish, rigid shrimpfish, serrate razorfish, guttersnipe fish	LC		Central & eastern Indian Ocean, Indo-Pacific
	Notopogon armatus (Sauvage 1879)		LC		Western Indian Ocean
	N. fernandezianus (Delfin 1899)	Orange bellowfish	LC		Southeastern Pacific, south-western Atlantic
	N. lilliei Regan 1914	Crested bellowfish, bristle snipefish	LC		Australia & New Zealand, southwestern Indian Ocean, southeastern Atlantic
	N. macrosolen Barnard 1925	Longspine bellowsfish, longsnout bellowfish	LC		Southeastern Atlantic
	N. xenosoma Regan 1914	Longspine bellowsfish, orange bellowsfish	LC		Southern Indian Ocean, Australia & New Zealand

IUCN Red List key: 

EX=Extinct EW=Extinct in the Wild CR=Critically Endangered EN=Endangered VU=Vulnerable NT=Near Threatened LC=Least Concern DD=Data Deficient NE=Not Evaluated

(Click here for a full explanation of IUCN Red List categories.)

A note on ‘Data Deficient’ species: Species that are assessed as Data Deficient are deemed to have insufficient information known about them to carry out a proper conservation assessment. Although such species are not assessed as threatened, we may find out that they in fact are, once enough data is obtained.