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Syngnathiformes (Pipefishes and seahorses) >
Syngnathidae (Pipefishes and seahorses) > Syngnathinae
Etymology: Hippocampus: Greek, ippos = horse + Greek,kampe = curvature (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / distribuzione batimetrica / distribution range
Ecologia
marino demersale; non migratori; distribuzione batimetrica 0 - 60 m (Ref. 52034). Subtropical; 53°N - 7°N, 32°W - 42°E
Eastern Atlantic: British Isles to Guinea and the Mediterranean Sea
Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age
Maturità: Lm 7.7 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.0 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 6733)
Spine dorsali (totale) : 0; Raggi dorsali molli (totale) : 16 - 19. Description (based on 35 specimens): Adult height: 7.0-13.0cm. Rings: 11 + 37 (35-38). Snout length: 3.0 (2.8-3.4) in head length. Dorsal fin rays: 17 (16-19) covering 2+1 rings. Pectoral fin rays: 14 (13-15). Coronet: narrow, ridge-like and joined smoothly to nape of neck, or wedge-shaped (front narrow, back high and broad); some specimens with very large angular coronet (especially specimens from West Africa). Spines: low, very low in adults. Other distinctive characters: very short snout (usually less than 1/3 head length) that is slightly upward-bent; prominent eye spine. Color pattern: mottled brown to yellow, to maroon and rust (Refs. 52034, 89230); also orange, purple or black; sometimes with tiny white dots, but these do not coalesce into thick horizontal wavy lines as in H. guttulatus.
Body shape (shape guide): other.
Inhabits dense, complex habitats as well as patchy, relatively open and sparse habitats of coastal areas. Found on soft bottoms amongst rocks and algae (Ref. 6733), on sparsely vegetated areas, and in coastal lagoons with strong oceanic influences (Refs. 52034, 89230). Mimics the green or yellow coloration of plants allowing it to hide among the vegetation. This ability likely plays a role in seahorse feeding strategy and in predator avoidance (Ref. 52034). Makes limited daily movements within very restricted home ranges (0.7-18.1 m2) (Refs. 52034, 89256). May over-winter in deeper water. (Ref. 53712). Adult dispersal over large distances is probably caused by strong wave action during storms or when it anchors itself to floating debris (Ref. 52034).
Is thought to live for 3-5 years (Ref. 52034). Because of its short generation time and multiple breeding cycles during each spawning season, resilience is thought to be high. However, in tropical areas where seagrass beds are regularly exploited for other species of seahorses for the aquarium trade, traditional medicine, etc., populations have been quickly eradicated (Ref. 89253). Feeds on small prey and organic debris. Has been reared in captivity (Ref. 35416). Minimum depth reported taken from Ref. 128812.
Ovoviviparous, with the female depositing eggs into the male brood pouch. During the mating season, mature males and females have been observed to change hue, i.e., become brighter, when greeting, courting, or mating (Ref. 88171). Newly hatched young are thought to have a planktonic stage that lasts at least eight weeks (Refs. 47822, 52034).
Lourie, S.A., R.A. Pollom and S.J. Foster, 2016. A global revision of the seahorses Hippocampus Rafinesque 1810 (Actinopterygii: Syngnathiformes): taxonomy and biogeography with recommendations for further research. Zootaxa 4146(1):1-66. (Ref. 115213)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Pesca: scarso interesse commerciale; Acquario: acquario da esposizione
Strumenti
Special reports
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Fonti Internet
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Fonte Biblio.
123201): 10.9 - 26.5, mean 17.8 °C (based on 304 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Fonte Biblio.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00282 (0.00166 - 0.00478), b=2.96 (2.81 - 3.11), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Fonte Biblio.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 1.2 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilienza (Fonte Biblio.
120179): Alto, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione meno di 15 mesi (tm=0.3-0.4).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (15 of 100).
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Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 191 [40, 725] mg/100g; Iron = 2.42 [0.86, 8.49] mg/100g; Protein = 3.35 [0.00, 7.22] %; Omega3 = 0.283 [0.105, 0.775] g/100g; Selenium = 31.1 [6.5, 111.1] μg/100g; VitaminA = 5.88 [1.39, 24.14] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.46 [0.69, 2.95] mg/100g (wet weight);
