Syngnathus temminckii (longsnout pipefish) is the most common pipefish in southern African estuaries, ranging from Walvis Bay (Namibia) to the Tugela River on the east coast of South Africa.

[1] The fish is named in honor of Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858), the director of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie (Leiden, Netherlands), where the type specimens are housed.

[2] This species is common in estuaries, usually in eelgrass beds, but has also been found offshore to depths of 110 m.[1] Sexual maturity is reached at 12 cm, and breeding occurs from March to November.

[1] Syngnathus temminckii was until 2013 synonymised with the European species S. acus (greater pipefish), but morphological data show that it is distinct.

[3] Genetic data further indicate that it is not even the sister taxon of S. acus, but of another southern African species, the critically endangered estuarine pipefish, S.