Hippocampus hippocampus

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Habitat

Occurs mostly in shallow inshore waters among algae[1]. May over-winter in deeper water. It mimics the green or yellow coloration of plants allowing it to hide among the vegetation. Has been reared in captivity[2].

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of 29 meters (94 feet).[3]

Ecology: Hippocampus hippocampus is found in shallow, muddy waters; estuaries; inshore among algae; rocky areas (Whitehead 1986). They may overwinter in deeper water (Whitehead 1986). The breeding season for H. hippocampus extends from April to October (Wheeler 1985, Whitehead 1986).

This species may be particularly susceptible to decline. The limited information on habitat suggests they inhabit shallow, inshore areas (Whitehead 1986) that are susceptible to human degradation, as well as making them susceptible to being caught as bycatch. All seahorse species have vital parental care, and many species studied to date have high site fidelity (Perante et al. 2002, Vincent et al. in review), highly structured social behaviour (Vincent and Sadler 1995), and relatively sparse distributions (Lourie et al. 1999). The importance of life history parameters in determining response to exploitation has been demonstrated for a number of species (Jennings et al. 1998).[4].

List of Habitats:

•     9     Marine Neritic   
  
•     9.1     Marine Neritic - Pelagic   
[more info]

Biology

Diet

Feeds on small prey and organic debris .

Reproduction

Ovoviviparous[5]. As with all seahorses, the incubation of the eggs takes place in a marsupial pouch found in front of the tail of the males[6].

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Hippocampus antiquorum • Hippocampus antiquorum Leach • Hippocampus antiquus • Hippocampus antiquus Risso • Hippocampus brevirostris • Hippocampus brevirostris Schinz • Hippocampus europaeus • Hippocampus europaeus Ginsburg • Hippocampus heptagonus • Hippocampus heptagonus Rafinesque • Hippocampus hippocampus • Hippocampus hippocampus (Linnaeus, 1758) • Hippocampus pentagonus • Hippocampus pentagonus Rafinesque • Hippocampus punctulatus Kaup • Hippocampus vulgaris • Hippocampus vulgaris Cloquet • Syngnathus hippocampus • Syngnathus hippocampus Linnaeus • Syngnathus hippocampus Linnaeus, 1758

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: Data last modified by FishBase 01-Sep-1994

Similar Species

Members of the genus Hippocampus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 58 species and subspecies in this genus:

H. abdominalis (Eastern Potbelly Seahorse) · H. alatus (Winged Seahorse) · H. algiricus (West African Seahorse) · H. angustus (Western Australian Seahorse) · H. barbouri (Barbour´s Seahorse) · H. bargibanti (Bargibant´s Seahorse) · H. biocellatus (False-Eyed Seahorse) · H. borboniensis (R?union Seahorse) · H. breviceps (Short-Snouted Seahorse) · H. camelopardalis (Giraffe Seahorse) · H. capensis (Knysna Seahorse) · H. comes (Tiger-Tail Seahorse) · H. coronatus (Common Japanese Seahorse) · H. curvicuspis (New Caledonian Thorny Seahorse) · H. debelius (Softcoral Seahorse) · H. denise (Denise's Pygmy Seahorse) · H. erectus (Spotted Sea Horse) · H. fisheri (Fisher´s Seahorse) · H. fuscus (Chilka Seahorse) · H. gracilissimus (Graceful Pipehorse) · H. grandiceps (Big-Head Seahorse) · H. guttulatus (Long-Snouted Seahorse) · H. guttulatus microstephanus (Long-Snouted Seahorse) · H. hendriki (Eastern Spiny Seahorse) · H. hippocampus (Short Snouted Seahorse) · H. histrix (Longspine Seahorse) · H. hystrix (Thorny Seahorse) · H. ingens (Pacific Giant Seahorse) · H. japonicus (Japanese Seahorse) · H. jayakari (Jayakar´s Seahorse) · H. jugumus (Collared Seahorse) · H. kelloggi (Kellog´s Seahorse) · H. kuda (Common Seahorse) · H. lichtensteinii (Lichtenstein's Seahorse) · H. minotaur (Bullneck Seahorse) · H. mohnikei (Japanese Seahorse) · H. monckei (Japanese Seahorse) · H. monikei (Japanese Seahorse) · H. montebelloensis (Monte Bello Seahorse) · H. multispinus (Northern Spiny Seahorse) · H. obtusus (Offshore Seahorse) · H. planifrons (Three-Spotted Seahorse) · H. procerus (High-Crown Seahorse) · H. punctalatus (Silver Cusk Eel) · H. pusillus (Pygmy Thorny Seahorse) · H. queenslandicus (Queensland Seahorse) · H. guttulatus (Common Seahorse) · H. reidi (Longsnout Seahorse) · H. semispinosus (Half-Spined Seahorse) · H. sindonis (Dhiho´s Seahorse) · H. spinosissimus (Hedgehog Seahorse) · H. subelongatus (West Australian Seahorse) · H. trimaculatus (Three-Spotted Seahorse) · H. vulgaris (Spotted Flounder) · H. waleananus (Walea Pygmy Seahorse) · H. whitei (White´s Seahorse) · H. zebra (Zebra Seahorse) · H. zosterae (Little Seahorse)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• A catalogue of the fishes known to inhabit the waters of North America, north of the Tropic of Cancer, with notes on the species discovered in 1883 and 1884, by David Starr Jordan. Washington, Govt. print. off., 1885. url p. 62.
• A catalogue of the fishes of Bermuda, with notes on a collection made in 1905 for the Field Museum, by Tarleton H. Bean. 7 1906 Chicago, 1906. url p. 40.
• A guide to the study of fishes, New York, H. Holt, 1905. url .
• A guide to the study of fishes, by David Starr Jordan. .. New York, H. Holt and Company, 1905. url p. 238.
• Annals of the Carnegie Museum. [Pittsburgh]: Published by authority of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute, 1901- url p. 462, p. 488.
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url , .
• Checklist of CITES Species: a reference to the appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES url p. 145, p. 146, p. 214, p. 216, p. 75, p. 84.
• Checklist of fish and invertebrates listed in the CITES appendices and in EC Regulation 338/97 JNCC url p. 5.
• Current bibliography for aquatic sciences and fisheries. London, Taylor & Francis ltd. url p. 212, p. 292.
• Dean bibliography of fishes. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1971-1973. url p. 209, p. 25, p. 309, p. 485, p. 488, p. 489, p. 511.
• Elementary zoology / by Vernon L. Kellogg. New York: H. Holt and company, 1902. url p. 477.
• Fishes, New York, H. Holt and Company, 1907. url .
• Fishes, by David Starr Jordan. .. with 18 colored plates and 673 illustrations. .. New York, H. Holt and Company, 1907. url p. 453.
• Pamphlets on forestry. Fish and game. [1900?- url p. 775.
• Proceedings of the United States National Museum. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, [etc.] url , p. 501, p. 502, p. 521, p. 530, p. 543, p. 570, p. 571.
• Publication. Field Columbian Museum. Chicago, U.S.A.: The Museum, 1895-1909. url p. 40.
• Records of the Australian Museum. Sydney: Printed by order of the Trustees, 1890- url p. 199.
• Report of the Commissioner for. .. / United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries. Washington: G.P.O., 1874-1905. url p. 850.
• The fishes of North and Middle America: a descriptive catalogue of the species of fish-like vertebrates found in the waters of North America, north of the Isthmus of Panama / by David Starr Jordan and Barton Warren Evermann. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, 1896-1900. url p. 775.
• The fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago. .. by Dr. Max Weber. .. and Dr. L. F. de Beaufort Leiden, E. J. Brill ltd., 1911- url p. 111.
• World Atlas of Seagrasses UNEP-WCMC url p. 51.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Project seahorse 2003. Hippocampus hippocampus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 01February2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 17, 2007:

• European Environment Agency, EUNIS
• Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies - Trawl Surveys
• Museum national d'histoire naturelle, Ichtyologie
• Senckenberg, Collection Pisces

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 128936
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Fis-23547
• Fishbase Species ID: 1801
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 4490920
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 166497
• IUCN ID: 214175
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 5464

Footnotes

1. Dawson, C.E. (1986). Syngnathidae. p. 628-639. In P.J.P. Whitehead, M.-L. Bauchot, J.-C. Hureau, J. Nielsen and E. Tortonese (eds.) Fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean. UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2. [back]
2. Lange, J. (1989). The breeding of different coral fishes in the Zoo Aquarium Berlin. Bull. L'Inst. Oceanogr. (Monaco) No. 5 Spec.:219-222. [back]
3. Standard Deviation = 45.560 based on 130,984 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
4. Project seahorse 2003. Hippocampus hippocampus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 February 2012. [back]
5. Breder, C.M. and D.E. Rosen (1966). Modes of reproduction in fishes. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. 941 p. [back]
6. Maigret, J. and B. Ly (1986). Les poissons de mer de Mauritanie. Science Nat., Compiègne. 213 p. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.