A seahorse is any of 46 species of small marine bony fish in the genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippókampos (ἱππόκαμπος), itself from híppos (ἵππος) meaning "horse" and kámpos (κάμπος) meaning "sea monster" or "sea animal". Having a head and neck suggestive of a horse, seahorses also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled prehensile tail. Along with the pipefishes and seadragons they form the family Syngnathidae.
The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons. The name is derived from Ancient Greek: σύν, meaning "together", and γνάθος, meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the traits that the entire family have in common.
The common seadragon or weedy seadragon is a marine fish of the order Syngnathiformes, which also includes the similar pipefishes, seahorses, and trumpetfishes among other species. Adult common seadragons are a reddish colour, with yellow and purple striped markings; they have small, leaf-like appendages that resemble kelp or seaweed fronds, providing camouflage, as well as a number of short spines for protection. As with seahorses and the other syngnathids, the seadragon has a similarly tubular snout and a fused, toothless jaw into which it captures small invertebrate prey at lightning speed. Males have narrower bodies and are darker than females. Seadragons have a long dorsal fin along the back and small pectoral fins on either side of the neck, which provide balance. Weedy seadragons can reach 45 cm (18 in) in length.
Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons, form the family Syngnathidae.
The West African seahorse is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the eastern central Atlantic Ocean off Angola, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Sierra Leone, as well as the Canary Islands. Although there have been no records from Algeria since Guichenot said that the type was collected at Béjaïa in the 1850s, but the location given may be an error.
Hippocampus angustus, commonly known as the narrow-bellied seahorse, western Australian seahorse, or western spiny seahorse, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in waters off of Australia, from Perth to Hervey Bay, and the southern portion of Papua New Guinea in the Torres Strait. It lives over soft-bottom substrates, adjacent to coral reefs, and on soft corals at depths of 3–63 metres (9.8–206.7 ft). It is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other seahorses. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young. This type of seahorse is monogamous in its mating patterns. The males only fertilize one female's eggs for the mating season because of the population distribution. While some seahorses can be polygamous because they are denser in population, this type of seahorse is more sparsely distributed and the cost of reproduction is high. Therefore, the risk to reproduce due to predatory and distributary factors limits this breed to one mate, often finding the same mate season after season.
Barbour's seahorse is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae.
The knobby seahorse, also known as the short-headed seahorse or short-snouted seahorse, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It inhabits coastal waters in southwestern and southeastern Australia, from Gregory to Bremer Bay, and from Denial Bay to Newcastle.
Hippocampus guttulatus, commonly known as the long-snouted seahorse and in Great Britain as the spiny seahorse, is a marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae, native from the northeast Atlantic, including the Mediterranean.
The hedgehog seahorse is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae. It inhabits coastal waters from India and Sri Lanka to Taiwan and northern Australia. It is threatened by overfishing, as both targeted catch and bycatch. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.
Hippocampus whitei, commonly known as White's seahorse, New Holland seahorse, or Sydney seahorse, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is thought to be endemic to the Southwest Pacific, from Sydney, New South Wales and southern Queensland (Australia) to the Solomon Islands. It lives in shallow, inshore habitats, both natural and anthropogenic. This species is ovoviviparous, with males brooding eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.
The spiny seahorse, also referred to as the thorny seahorse, is a small marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, native to the Indo-Pacific area. It is classified as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN.
The Hippocampinae are a subfamily of small marine fishes in the family Syngnathidae. Depending on the classification system used, it comprises either seahorses and pygmy pipehorses, or only seahorses.
Project Seahorse is a marine conservation organization committed to the conservation and sustainable use of coastal marine ecosystems in general, and seahorses in particular. It is based at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries in Canada, and Zoological Society of London in the UK.
The Yucatán pipefish is a demersal fish species native to the Gulf of Mexico.
Lissocampus bannwarthi is a species of marine pipefish belonging to the family Syngnathidae.
Histiogamphelus cristatus, known as Macleay's crested pipefish or rhino pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Sygnathidae. This species can be found in a variety of marine habitats such as seagrass beds, sandy ocean bottoms, and estuaries, surrounding south and southwestern Australia. Their main source of food are small crustaceans found in the water column or in sediments. Males of the species brood eggs and give birth to live offspring.
Urocampus nanus, commonly known as the barbed pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. This family consists of 56 different genera and 320 species.
Nannocampus weberi, also known as the reef-flat pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting reefs in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia particularly the islands of Sumba and Bali. Their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.
Vanacampus phillipi, also known as the Port Phillip pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting seaweed and seagrass beds along the southern coast of Australia from Perth to Jervis Bay, New South Wales including the coast of Tasmania. Their diet consists of small crustaceans such as copepods, amphipods, and mysid shrimps. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth to 50 or less offspring.
