Hippocampus colemani

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Coleman's pygmy seahorse
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species:
H. colemani
Binomial name
Hippocampus colemani
Kuiter, 2003
A picture of Halameda pygmy seahorse eating at the table coral city, wakatobi, 2018 Halameda pygmy seahorse eating, table coral city, wakatobi, 2018 (31944890118).jpg
A picture of Halameda pygmy seahorse eating at the table coral city, wakatobi, 2018

Coleman's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus colemani) is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found off of the coast of Lord Howe Island, Australia, although unconfirmed occurrences have been reported from Milne Bay and the Ryukyu Islands. [1] It lives in coarse sand and Zostera and Halophila sea grasses at depths around 5 metres (16 ft). [3] [1] It is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other seahorses. Ovoviviparous reproduction is also expected, with males brooding eggs in a pouch before giving birth to live young. [1]

Contents

Named after Neville Coleman, an Australian diver and publisher of several popular books on diving and marine biology of the South Pacific area. [4]

Identification

Individuals of this species are tiny, growing to a maximum recorded length of 2.7 centimetres (1.1 in). [3] They have small heads, short snouts, thick trunks, and low coronets. Algae that are found on seagrass blades attach to their skins, acting as a form of camouflage. [1] Colouration is generally pale whitish to yellowish, with white circular or elliptical markings outlined with narrow red lines on the trunk, dusky brown bands radiating from the eye, brownish-red appendages, and a slightly brownish tail with red markings. [5]

Related Research Articles

Seahorse Genus of fishes

A seahorse is any of 46 species of small marine 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". 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.

Big-belly seahorse Species of fish

The big-belly seahorse or pot-bellied seahorse is one of the largest seahorse species in the world, with a length of up to 35 cm (14 in), and is the largest in Australia. Seahorses are members of the family Syngnathidae, and are teleost fishes. They are found in southeast Australia and New Zealand, and are listed on Appendix II of CITES.

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.

<i>Hippocampus bargibanti</i> Species of fish

Hippocampus bargibanti, also known as Bargibant's seahorse or the pygmy seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae found in the central Indo-Pacific area.

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.

Barbours seahorse Species of fish

Barbour's seahorse is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae.

Knobby seahorse Species of fish

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.

Denises pygmy seahorse Species of fish

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.

Fishers seahorse Species of fish

Hippocampus fisheri, commonly known as Fisher's seahorse, or the Hawaiian seahorse, is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is known from the Hawaiian Islands, although previous misidentifications indicated species occurrences in Australia and New Caledonia. Habitat preferences are unknown, but it has been found far away from shore and at depths greater than 100 metres (330 ft). Feeding habits are also unknown, but individuals are expected to feed on small crustaceans similar to other seahorses. Hippocampus fisheri is one out of the three species of Hippocampus genus found in the Hawaiian islands. They are also expected to be ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young. Individuals can grow to lengths of 8 centimetres (3.1 in). The specific name and the common name honour "Walter V. Fisher” of Stanford University. There was a Walter Kenrick Fisher who was Jordan and Evermann’s colleague at Stanford and the “V” is assumed to be a typo.

Long-snouted seahorse Species of fish

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.

Jayakars seahorse Species of fish

Jayakar's seahorse is a species of coastal fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the Western Indian Ocean, from the Red and Arabian seas to the central coast of Pakistan. It lives in seagrass beds, algae, soft-bottom substrates, sponges, and rocky habitats, where it can grow to lengths of 14 centimetres (5.5 in). It can inhabit depths to 20 metres (66 ft), though it is more commonly found at 2–3 metres (6.6–9.8 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. Individuals reach sexual maturity at 11 centimetres (4.3 in). The specific name and the common name honours the Indian physician, linguist and ichthyologist Dr. Surgeon-Major Atmaram Sadashiv "Muscati" Jayakar (1844-1911).

Hedgehog seahorse Species of fish

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.

Flat-faced seahorse Species of fish

The flat-faced seahorse, longnose seahorse, low-crowned seahorse or three-spot seahorse is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is found in Australia, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is shallow seas. It is threatened by habitat loss.

The false-eye seahorse, or flatface seahorse is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is endemic to Australia, from Shark Bay to Broome, where it is found in intertidal rockpools, shallow algae and weedy or rubble reef habitats. It is expected to feed on harpacticoid, calanoid, and cyclopoid copepods, caridean and gammaridean shrimps, and mysids, similar to other seahorses. This species is ovoviviparous, with males brooding eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.

New Holland seahorse Species of fish

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.

Neville Coleman OAM was an Australian naturalist, underwater nature photographer, writer, publisher and educator.

Spiny seahorse Species of fish

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.

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.

<i>Hippocampus patagonicus</i> Species of fish

The Patagonian seahorse is a species of marine fish of the family Syngnathidae. It inhabits coastal waters from northeastern Brazil to Chubut, Argentina. It generally is found at shallow depths attached to natural or artificial substrates. This species is ovoviviparous, with males brooding eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.

Hippocampus dahli is a fish species of the family Syngnathidae. It is endemic to the Australian northeastern coast, from Darwin to Brisbane, where it inhabits estuarine channels and rubble or soft substrates to depths of 21 metres (69 ft). Little is known of its feeding habits, but it is likely to feed on small crustaceans such as copepods, amphipods, and gammarid, caprellid, and caridean shrimps, similar to other seahorses. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young. This species is not listed in FishBase and many authorities treat it as a synonym of Hippocampus trimaculatus.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ouyang, L. & Pollom, R. (2017). "Hippocampus colemani". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T47728602A47736420. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T47728602A47736420.en.
  2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. 1 2 Eschmeyer, W.N. (ed.), 2004. Catalog of fishes. Updated database version of January 2004. Catalog databases as made available to FishBase in January 2004.
  4. https://www.bemon.loven.gu.se/%7CBiographical%5B%5D Etymology of Marine Organism Names
  5. Dianne J. Bray & Vanessa J. Thompson, Hippocampus colemani in Fishes of Australia, accessed 24 Mar 2018, http://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4038

Further reading