Syngnathoidei

Syngnathoidei is a large, diverse suborder of syngnathiform fish. It contains the "long-snouted" members of the order, and its monophyly has been affirmed by phylogenetic studies. The order contains pipefish, seahorses, trumpetfish, cornetfish, shrimpfish, and snipefish. They are found in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas, especially in coastal waters around rock and coral reefs and among sea weed and sea grass beds. However, there are also pelagic species of pipefish and even freshwater species.
This appears to be an ancient suborder, with fossil remains known as early as the Late Cretaceous period.

Taxonomy

The suborder is classified as follows, with familial divisions based on Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes:

The following fossil taxa are placed in this order:

Suborder Syngnathoidei
* Genus †Gasterorhamphosus Sorbini, 1981 - Late Cretaceous of Italy
* Family †Eekaulostomidae Cantalice & Alvarado-Ortega, 2016 - Early Paleocene of Mexico
* Superfamily Aulostomoidea
** Genus †Aulostomoides Blot, 1980
** Family †Fistularioididae Blot, 1981 - Early Eocene of Italy
** Family †Parasynarcualidae Blot, 1981
** Family †Urosphenidae Gill, 1884 - Early Eocene of Italy
* Superfamily Centriscoidea
** Family †Gerpegezhidae Bannikov & Carnevale, 2012 - Early Eocene of North Caucasus, Russia
* Superfamily Syngnathoidea
** Family †Protosyngnathidae Boulenger, 1902 - Early-mid Eocene of Sumatra, Indonesia