A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 8b: The Bay Pipefish

Poachers, despite a startling similarity to Hagelund's illustrated specimen, are problematic candidates as they are apparently incapable of undulatory locomotion and at-surface behavior is unlikely. Pipefishes don't look as similar but are capable of undulating at the surface and can be unambiguously described as "eel-like" or "sea snake-like"... unlike Hagelund's own drawing.

Syngnathus leptorhynchus from Flickr user jmandecki.

Syngnathus leptorhynchus from Flickr user jmandecki.

Hagelund's drawing portrays the upper bounds of the estimated depth (1-1.5 inches), so the difference from the above pictures of Bay Pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus) may not be as great as shown. Bay Pipefish have been recorded up to 38.5 cm in total length (Bayer 1980) - comfortably similar to 40 cm, I'd say - and it seems likely that allometry could make them more similar to the Hagelund specimen. The equation Bayer (1980) used to estimate pipefish weight from length indicated that the fish were proportionally more massive at larger sizes (the rate was somewhat higher than cubed†) and the largest specimens tended to be underestimated in weight; this suggests that Bay Pipefish are proportionally thicker-bodied at large sizes. Another potential explanation is that Hagelund captured a pregnant male; males are somewhat smaller than females with a maximum size of 32.5 cm TL (Bayer 1980), although this is within a plausible margin of error, considering the Hagelund specimen was estimated rather than measured. It seems that there is some variation in Bay Pipefish head length (see below) which may be related to size as well.

† log W = -3.70 + 3.12 log TL(cm)

A rather thick Bay Pipefish from Wikipedia Commons.

Bay Pipefish match the described behavior and shape of the Hagelund specimen as well as the coloration, long snout, slender head, lips, and large dark eyes; the pelvic fins are absent and the dorsal and anal fins are small and transparent enough to be easily overlooked. The snout of the Hagelund specimen has a similar profile to that of a Bay Pipefish (with a bulbous protrusion at the end) which Hagelund mysteriously labels as a "hooked upper jaw". The Bay Pipefish lacks hair-like structures, although the mesh-like coloration on the ventrum (somewhat visible above) could potentially explain this trait; there is such a thing as a Hairy Pipefish, but they are found nowhere near the northeast Pacific. The biggest issues with the Bay Pipefish are the lack of teeth and whisker-like structures. Hagelund's illustration is very unclear as to where the whiskers are located (the original illustration is full of mysteriously interpretive lines), but since they protruded from the head, they can't be due to coloration and it would be implausible for Hagelund to mistake the pectoral fins for separate structures. All pipefish lack teeth, however some have inconspicuous tooth-like odontoid processes (Dawson and Fritzsche 1975)... which have not been described from S. leptorhynchus.


Bay Pipefish are not a perfect fit for the Hagelund specimen, but then, nothing is. Since the pipefish is more similar than any other northeast Pacific fish, the most reasonable conclusion is that the differences are due to the account being misremembered after nearly two decades. Perfect recollection after such a time period (or any time period, really) is probably impossible. Even if it turns out that poachers can fit the described behavior or there's some better fitting fish out there, the point will stand: LeBlond and Bousfield's identification of this creature as a cryptid is one of the least likely solutions available. Besides, if the account were to be taken literally, it would be some sort of weird, tiny, armored pinniped.

But wait, there's more! I'll quickly review the other weird candidates we dredged up and then it's time for an executive summary.


References:

Bayer, R. D. (1980). Size, Seasonality, and Sex Ratios of the Bay Pipefish (Syngnathus leptorhynchus) in Oregon. Northwest Science 54 (3), 161-167. Available.

Dawson, C. E. and Fritzsche, R. A. (1975). Odontoid processes in pipefish jaws. Nature 257, 390. doi:10.1038/257390a0

Hagelund, W. A. (1987). Whalers No More. Vancouver: Harbour Publishing.

LeBlond, P. H. & Bousfield, E. L. (1995). Cadborosaurus, Survivor from the Deep. Victoria, British Columbia: Horsdal & Schubart.

Woodley, M. A., Naish, D. & McCormick, C. A. (2011). A Baby Sea-Serpent No More: Reinterpreting Hagelund's Juvenile "Cadborosaur" Report. Journal of Scientific Exploration 25(3), 495-512.


Previous entries:

A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 1: Introduction

A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 2a: Hagelund's Account

A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 2b: Hagelund's Account - annotated

A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 3: Dealing With Traits

A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 4: What is 'Cadborosaurus'?
A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 5: Hagelund's Specimen And The Cadborosaurus
A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 6a: Cold Water on the 'Reptilian Hypothesis'
A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 6b: Reptilian Reproduction
A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 7: Poachers
A Baby Cadborosaur No More. Part 8a: Pipefish in a Bucket

Tet Zoo Coverage: 
A baby sea-serpent no more: reinterpreting Hagelund’s juvenile Cadborosaurus