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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
seahorse |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Osteichthyes |
| ORDER: |
Sygnathiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Syngnathidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Hippocampus
spp. |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Seahorses
are elongate with rigid body armor and swim upright.
Pectoral fins on the sides and a small dorsal
fin on the back of a seahorse's body wave rapidly
to move the seahorse through the water. They feed
using small mouths at the end of tubular snouts.
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| SIZE: |
The
various species range in size from about 5 to 36
cm (2-14 in.) in length. |
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| DIET: |
Plankton
and fish larvae |
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| INCUBATION: |
Ovoviviparous
("egg live birth"). Incubation may last
2-6 weeks, depending on the species. After the embryos
have developed, the male gives birth to tiny seahorses,
some as small as 1 cm (0.4 in.) long. |
| SPAWN
SIZE |
A
female seahorse deposits 100 or more eggs into
a pouch on the male's abdomen. The male releases
sperm into the pouch, fertilizing the eggs. The
embryos develop within the male's pouch, nourished
by their individual yolk sacs.
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| RANGE: |
Seahorses
are found in temperate and tropical waters. The
longsnout seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) and
the Northern seahorse (Hippocampus erectus)
live in the Caribbean region of the Western Atlantic.
The common seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus)
lives in the Mediterranean Sea and warm areas of
the Atlantic. The yellow seahorse (Hippocampus
kuda) lives in the Indo-Pacific. The Pacific
seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) is the only
seahorse on the eastern Pacific coast, ranging from
California to Peru. |
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| HABITAT: |
Typically
found in shallow waters with abundant vegetation |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Several
species listed as Vulnerable or Data Deficient;
1 species listed as Endangered |
| CITES |
Several
species listed as Appendix II |
| USFWS |
Not listed |
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| 1. |
A
seahorse is a type of fish closely related to pipefishes
and belonging to the scientific family Syngnathidae.
Roughly 35 species of seahorse occur worldwide. |
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| 2. |
The
seahorse's scientific genus name, Hippocampus,
is Greek for "bent horse". |
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| 3. |
The
seahorse may appear as if it wears armor; its
body is covered with bony rings and ridges.
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| 4. |
Seahorses
are well camouflaged among the relatively tall eelgrasses
and seaweeds in which they make their homes. A seahorse
often moors itself in the water by curling its prehensile
tail around seagrass and coral branches. |
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| 5. |
The
seahorse's small mouth, located at the end of its
tube-like snout, sucks up tiny plankton and fish
larvae. |
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| 6. |
For
more information about bony fishes, explore the
bony
fishes info book. |
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|
| Andrews,
A., Parham, D. and W. Street. Bony Fishes.
SeaWorld Education Department Publication. San Diego,
SeaWorld, Inc. 1995. |
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Burgess, W. and H.R. Axelrod. Pacific Marine
Fishes. Books 1,6, & 8. Neptune City, NJ.
T.F.H. Publications, Inc. Ltd. 1971, 1975, 1984. |
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Eschmeyer, W.N., Herald, E.S. and H. Hammann.
Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes.
New York. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1983.
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| http://www.fishbase.org/ |
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