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For more than four decades, the spinach pipefish (Microphis spinachioides) had not been scientifically documented. Known only from Papua New Guinea, this freshwater fish belongs to the pipefish family and is therefore related to seahorses.
In June 2026, the long-lost species resurfaced: On the lower Sepik, New Guinea’s longest river, researchers working with members of local communities found several specimens—the first confirmed record since 1985.
Rediscovery on the Sepik
The search was conducted by Jerrica Agebigo and Roger Maikei of the New Guinea Binatang Research Centre. For two weeks, the team surveyed the lower Sepik and several tributaries. Local knowledge played an important role: Fishers, market vendors, and other residents were shown illustrations and asked whether they recognized the unusual fish and where they had encountered them.
People from several communities did indeed recognize the species. They reported finding it along densely vegetated riverbanks and knew several local names for the fish, including Karuweng, Inap, Karuwena and Sako.
The crucial lead came from the village of Imbando on the main channel of the Sepik. There, Helen Asu recognized the fish in the images she was shown. She regularly catches freshwater shrimp with a traditional hand net known as an umben among the dense vegetation along the riverbank.
The very next morning, her catch included two elongated pipefish. Within two days, a total of three specimens were observed; two were preserved for further scientific study. Photos of the fish were then sent to Australian ichthyologist Gerald R. Allen, who had studied the Sepik’s fish fauna decades earlier. He confirmed that they were indeed Microphis spinachioides. For the first time in more than 40 years, this provided firm evidence that the spinach pipefish still exists.
The following video shows the rediscovered spinach pipefish (Microphis spinachioides):
Not scientifically documented since 1985
That Gerald R. Allen was the one to confirm the rediscovery fits the species’ history: Together with David Coates, he had surveyed the Sepik’s fish fauna between 1978 and 1985. Even then, Microphis spinachioides was among the species that were rarely found. The few known specimens came primarily from dense vegetation along shallow riverbanks, including near Marienberg and Angoram.
The last scientifically confirmed record dates to 1985. After that, the species disappeared from scientific records for decades. It was not considered extinct, however, but lost: In 2021, SHOAL included it among its Top 10 Most Wanted Lost Fishes. The initiative defines a Lost Fish as a species that has not been scientifically documented for at least ten years, without its extinction having been confirmed.
Two other species have since been removed from the list: the Batman River loach, rediscovered in 2021, and the leopard barbel, rediscovered in 2024.
First discovered on the Sepik in 1909
The scientific history of the spinach pipefish goes back a long way. German zoologist Georg Duncker described the species in 1915 under the name Doryichthys spinachioides. The original description was based on a single specimen measuring 8.2 centimeters that Duncker himself had caught on May 28, 1909, during the Hamburg South Seas Expedition. He listed the collection site as what was then the Empress Augusta River, about 51 nautical miles upstream from its mouth. This is the present-day Sepik.
The type specimen was kept at the Zoological Museum Hamburg under the catalog number ZMH 11555, but is now considered destroyed. Its taxonomic classification also changed: The species is no longer placed in the genus Doryichthys, but in the genus Microphis.
The origin of the species name can also be traced through Duncker’s original description. He wrote that the new fish, in head shape and stocky build, strongly resembled Spinachia vulgaris—the species now known as Spinachia spinachia, the fifteen-spined stickleback. Accordingly, the name spinachioides roughly means “Spinachia-like”.
What is a freshwater pipefish?
The spinach pipefish belongs to the pipefish family (Syngnathidae), which also includes seahorses and sea dragons. These fish typically have an elongated body, a tubular snout, and body armor made up of bony rings.
Most pipefish live in the ocean or in coastal waters. Some, however, have colonized rivers and other fresh waters of the Indo-Pacific. Around 30 species of these tropical freshwater pipefish are known. A comprehensive taxonomic revision published in 2023 concluded that the species previously distributed among several genera should be united in the genus Microphis.
In the spinach pipefish, as in other pipefish, males provide parental care. One male examined carried around 150 embryos. Based on the data available to date, the species reaches a length of at least 15 centimeters. Very little, however, is known about many other aspects of its life history. The IUCN therefore lists the spinach pipefish as Data Deficient (DD)—there is not yet enough data to reliably assess how threatened it is.
Why did the species go so long without a scientific record?
The rediscovery does not necessarily mean that only a few spinach pipefish remain. There simply is not enough data to know. Earlier records came primarily from densely vegetated, shallow river margins—exactly where the fish were also found in 2026. A slender, inconspicuously colored fish can be easily overlooked amid dense aquatic and riverbank vegetation. Another factor is the enormous size of the Sepik river system, with its branches, lakes, floodplains, and wetlands.
In this case, lost therefore meant primarily that the species had not been scientifically documented for decades. To the people living along the Sepik, it had by no means disappeared completely: Residents of several communities recognized the fish in illustrations and even had their own names for it. Ultimately, it was the combination of a targeted scientific search and local knowledge that led to its rediscovery.
How threatened is the spinach pipefish?
The rediscovery makes one thing clear: Microphis spinachioides is still alive. However, it remains unknown how many of these fish exist, how large their current range is, and whether their populations are declining. Accounts of the species’ distribution are also somewhat inconsistent: While SHOAL primarily associates the species with the Sepik system, other sources mention an older record from the Ramu in addition to the Sepik and its tributary, the May.
People in the communities surveyed told the researchers about declines in native fish species and changes caused by sedimentation, logging, mining, habitat alteration, and introduced species. The IUCN also identifies the degradation of freshwater habitats through deforestation and metal mining as a possible threat to the spinach pipefish. The species might also be collected for the aquarium fish trade, although there is currently no concrete evidence of this. Whether and to what extent these factors actually affect its populations remains unclear.
Further research will now aim to determine where the species still occurs and how large its populations are. The planned methods include the use of environmental DNA (eDNA). This allows water samples to be tested for genetic traces of the spinach pipefish without the need to catch any fish.
For the first time since 1985, researchers now have an opportunity to study the distribution, life history, and conservation status of this little-known freshwater pipefish in greater detail—and to find out how its populations can be preserved in the long term.
Sources
- Duncker, G. (1915). Revision der Syngnathidae. Erster Teil. Mitteilungen aus dem Naturhistorischen (Zoologischen) Museum in Hamburg, 32, 9–120.
- Edmondstone, M. (2026, August 24). FOUND: ‘Lost Fish’ Spinach Pipefish rediscovered after more than four decades. SHOAL.
https://shoal.org/found-lost-fish-spinach-pipefish-rediscovered-after-more-than-four-decades/ - Haÿ, V., Mennesson, M. I., Lord, C., & Keith, P. (2023). Why several when one can unite them all? Integrative taxonomic revision of Indo-Pacific freshwater pipefish (Nerophinae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 198(4), 923–956. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad007
- National Broadcasting Corporation of Papua New Guinea. (2026, August 30). Lost Sepik fish rediscovered after 40 years. https://www.nbc.com.pg/post/39155/lost-sepik-fish-rediscovered-after-40-years
- Pollom, R. 2017. Microphis spinachioides. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T13392A67620733. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T13392A67620733.en
About the author: Doreen Fräßdorf
Doreen Fräßdorf is the author and publisher of artensterben.de. She researches and writes about extinct and endangered species in the modern era, with a focus on red lists, scientific studies, historical sources, and current conservation efforts. The goal is a clear, evidence-based overview of biodiversity loss and species protection.
She is also the author of a non-fiction book about extinct modern-era mammals.
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