← JournalNotes from the Kelp Forest

Lattice Pipefish

Syngnathus cancellatus

Twilight23 cm · Hiding · skittish

Field record

It hangs head-down between two kelp stipes with its body held dead vertical, banded in the same alternating light and shadow the canopy throws, and I went past the same animal three times before it blinked. Push the drone through the gap at any speed and it is simply not there any more — no dart, no flash, just a third stipe where a fish had been.

Marginal note: “holds itself vertical, exactly as a stipe does”

Habitat

ZoneThe Kelp Forest

Depth range640–3,000 m

DiscoveryOnly shows itself to a drone moving well under its own top speed. Ease off the throttle as you close.

Catching it

A Twilight-tier catch needs at least a Fine Mesh Net— anything under that rating can never hold it, whatever the throw. Bought at the Quartermaster’s counter for 90 crystals. A held net inks this entry for good and pays its ledger bonus on the spot.

Ledger bonus on capture+5 Pickup Radius

Full capture mechanics — sighting vs. capture, the aim ring, why a net below a creature’s tier always bursts — in The Ledger.