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 Syngnathiformes are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the leafy seadragons, sea moths, trumpetfishes and seahorses, among others.
The pygmy seahorses comprise several species of tiny seahorse in the syngnathid family or Syngnathidae. Family Syngnathidae is part of order Syngnathiformes, which contains fishes with fused jaws that suck food into tubular mouths. They are found in Southeast Asia in the Coral Triangle area. They are some of the smallest seahorse species in the world, typically measuring less than 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in height.
Hippocampus denise, also known as Denise's pygmy seahorse or the yellow pygmy seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae native to the western Pacific.
The bullneck seahorse is a pygmy seahorse in the genus Hippocampus. This seahorse has never been found in the wild, and little is known about its natural habitat. The only known specimens were collected on the coast of Eden, Australia. It is thought to live in sand beds at the bottom of the ocean, "64 - 100 meters below sea level" possibly wrapping its prehensile tail around gorgonian corals. The seahorse is among the 25 “most wanted lost” species that are the focus of Re:wild's “Search for Lost Species” initiative.
The Japanese seahorse or lemur-tail seahorse is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. The Japanese seahorse reaches a maximum length of 8.0 cm, is usually dark brown and has a relatively long tail, a ridgelike coronet and flattened spines. Many seahorse species look similar, so in addition to any distinguishing features, individual specimens are identified using a series of specific measurements and counts of anatomical features such as spines and tail rings.
Ngātiwai or Ngāti Wai is a Māori iwi of the east coast of the Northland Region of New Zealand. Its historical tribal area or rohe stretched from Cape Brett in the north to Takatū Point on Tawharanui Peninsula in the south and out to Great Barrier Island, the Poor Knights Islands and other offshore islands.
Satomi's pygmy seahorse is the smallest known seahorse in the world with an average length of 13.8 millimetres (0.54 in) and an approximate height of 11.5 millimetres (0.45 in).
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.
The thread pipefish, also known by its Japanese standard name Hari-youji, is a species of pipefish native to the Pacific Ocean around Indonesia, where it is found at depths from 15 to 20 m. This species grows to a length of 2.68 cm (1.06 in), and is the only known member of its genus.
Acentronura tentaculata, the shortpouch pygmy pipehorse , northern little pipehorse, or dwarf pipehorse, is a species of pygmy pipehorse from the family Syngnathidae. The status of this species is debated and Acentronura breviperula is considered to be subsumed within this species by some authorities. The exact distribution of this species may be as wide as the western Indo-Pacific region from East Africa to New Caledonia and the northern Great Barrier Reef. Other authorities however describe Acentronura tentaculata as being endemic to the Red Sea.
Hippocampus waleananus, the Walea pygmy seahorse, is a species of seahorse endemic to the Togian Islands in Indonesia, and is associated with specific soft corals. The species was described in 2009 from a single specimen which was found close to the island Walea. A 2016 classification considered it a synonym of Hippocampus satomiae, Lourie & Kuiter, 2008 due to lack of sufficient morphological differences, but following a reevaluation it is now recognised as a distinct species.
Hippocampus pontohi, also known as Pontoh's pygmy seahorse or the weedy pygmy seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae native to the central Indo-pacific. Named after Hentje Pontoh, the Indonesian dive guide from Bunaken (Manado) who first brought these pygmy seahorses to attention.
Hippocampus pusillus, the pygmy thorny seahorse, is only known from specimens that were dredged at depths between 35 and 228m off the coast of New Caledonia.
Hippocampus debelius, commonly known as the softcoral seahorse, is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is known from only two specimens collected from the Gulf of Suez in the Red Sea, at depths of 15–30 metres (49–98 ft). Individuals were found associated with soft corals. Although little is known of this species, it is expected to feed on crustaceans, similar to other seahorses. It is also expected to be ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.
Hippocampus haema, the Korean seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae native to the northern Pacific Ocean, and it usually lives in Sargassum and weeds on shallow soft bottom habitats from 0 to 18 m depth. The Korean seahorse is the most common seahorse in Korean waters so that the scientific name 'haema' is named from 'seahorse' in Korean. The Japanese name 'Himetatsu' is derived from its smaller shape such as body and coronet rather than the shape of a sister species, crowned seahorse. This species had been repeatedly misidentified as crowned seahorse and Shiho's seahorse before a taxonomic review. However, the two genuine species do not live in Korean waters, therefore this species was handled by naming a new scientific name, Hippocampus haema. It can grow to lengths of 11 centimeters, but more commonly 6 to 8 centimeters as adult. Namely, the length of juvenile is 1 to 5 centimeters, whereas and the lengths of males and females reaching sexual maturity are considered as ca. 5 centimeters with or without male brood pouch. However, sex determination of this species is considered as ca. 2 centimeters from anatomic examination of gonad. This species has sexual dimorphism, the difference is male has a longer tail, while female has a longer trunk for same size. Breeding season of this species is from April to October or May to November, relating to warm water temperature. The number of fertilized egg or larvae inside the male brood pouch were 38.3±14.8 (20-76), and the number of fecundity identified from female were 47.2±8.6 (31-59). The female-to-male ratio was 1:1.7, indicating the dominance of males.
Acentronura breviperula, also known as the shortpouch pygmy pipehorse, dwarf pipehorse and northern little pipehorse, is a species of pygmy pipehorse, a member of the family Syngnathidae, the seahorses and pipefishes. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific region from the eastern Andaman Sea, through the Malay Archipelago to the Western Pacific as far east as New Guinea and the northern Great Barrier Reef.
The Japanese pygmy seahorse is a Japanese species of seahorse in the family Syngnathidae. It is also sometimes known as the Japan pig.
Hippocampus nalu, the Sodwana pygmy seahorse, African pygmy seahorse or Honeypot seahorse, is a South African species of pygmy seahorse in the family Syngnathidae.
