photo by NOAA |
Seahorses range in size from 16 mm (the recently discovered species [1]) to 35 cm. They are notable for being one of only a few species where the males get pregnant. A seahorse pregnancy lasts approximately two to three weeks. Seahorses are also unusual among fishes for being monogamous.
There are approximately 35 known species of seahorse including:
- H. abdominalis (pot-bellied seahorse) which is found off the coast of New Zealand, and south and east Australia
- H. algiricus (West African Seahorse)
- H. angustus (Narrow Bellied Seahorse)
- H. barbouri (Barbour's seahorse or Zebra-snout seahorse)
- H. bargibanti (Pygmy Seahorse) which is found in the area of New Caledonia
- H. borboniensis (Réunion Seahorse)
- H. breviceps (Short Snouted Seahorse) which is found off the coast of south and east Australia
- H. camelopardalis (Giraffe Seahorse)
- H. capensis (Knysna Seahorse)
- H. comes (Tiger Tail Seahorse) which is found in the Far East
- H. coronatus (Crowned Seahorse)
- H. erectus (Lined Seahorse) which is found off the east coast of the Americas, between Nova Scotia and Uruguay
- H. fisheri (Fisher's Seahorse)
- H. fuscus (Sea Pony) which is found in the Indian Ocean
- H. guttulatus (Speckled Seahorse)
- H. hippocampus (European Seahorse) which is found in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Sea
- H. histrix (Thorny Seahorse) which is found in the Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and the Far East
- H. ingens (Pacific Seahorse) which is found off the Pacific coast coast of North, Central and South America)
- H. jayakari (Jayakar's Seahorse)
- H. kelloggi (Great Seahorse)
- H. kuda (Spotted Seahorse)
- H. lichtensteinii (Lichtenstein's Seahorse)
- H. minotaur (Bullneck Seahorse)
- H. mohnikei (Japanese Seahorse)
- H. procerus (Hippocampus procerus)
- H. reidi (Brazilian Seahorse) which is found in the Caribbean in coral reefs
- H. sindonis (Shiho's seahorse)
- H. spinosissimus (Hedgehog Seahorse)
- H. subelongatus (Tigersnout Seahorse or West Australian Seahorse)
- H. trimaculatus (Three-Spot Seahorse)
- H. tuberculatus (Knobby Seahorse)
- H. whitei (White's Seahorse)which is found off the coast of east Australia
- H. zebra (Zebra Seahorse)
- H. zosterae (Dwarf Seahorse) which is found in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean)
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