Seahorses and Pipefish Codexery

Long-snouted seahorse

A small, color-changing seahorse of the northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean.

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Long-snouted seahorse

FASTILY (TALK) · via Wikipedia: Long-snouted seahorse · CC BY-SA 3.0

The long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae.[1][2] The maximum recorded length for this fish is 21.5 cm, while typical specimens measure around 12 cm.[3] Simple or bifid dermal filaments, often long, are frequently present on the head and dorsal ridge.[4]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassActinopterygii
  4. DivisionTeleostei
  5. OrderSyngnathiformes
  6. FamilySyngnathidae
  7. GenusHippocampus
  8. SpeciesHippocampus guttulatus

Named by (G. Cuvier, 1829)

Close relatives

Other species of Hippocampus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Long-snouted seahorse (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 154776 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Near Threatened (NT)

  1. LC
  2. NT▲ this species
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2026

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

How big is it?

Size comparison: Long-snouted seahorse and a personA 0.21 m long long-snouted seahorse drawn to scale next to a 1.8 m tall person. Schematic shapes, not a likeness.0.21 m1.8 m

Largest length in the source, 0.21 m, next to a 1.8 m person.

Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Long-snouted seahorse

Where the long-snouted seahorse has been recorded

Where the long-snouted seahorse has been recorded94 mapped locations from 3,429 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Mediterranean SeaMediterranean Sea

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (3,429 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 106 inland records left out (institution coordinates). 1 isolated far-off record not drawn.

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Biology and range

Its range extends from the south coast of the United Kingdom to the Netherlands and south to Morocco, including the Canary Islands, the Azores, and Madeira.[5] Coastal waters with a depth between 1 and 20 meters are the preferred habitat for the long-snouted seahorse.[6] Posidonia and seagrass meadows, as well as mixed environments featuring sandy bottoms and algae-covered rocks, are where this species is found.[6] Body coloration varies from dark green through brown to yellow, with small white dots frequently speckling the body.[4]

Small crustaceans, larvae, fish eggs, and other planktonic organisms make up the carnivorous diet of the long-snouted seahorse.[7] The male incubates the eggs in a ventral brood pouch, as the species is ovoviviparous.[7] Each fertilized egg inside the male's pouch is surrounded by villi that are rich in capillaries, which together form a structure similar to a placenta.[8] Once they have fully developed, the fry are released from the pouch and mature independently.[8]

What the specialist sources record

The DORIS account notes that the long-snouted seahorse can reach a maximum length of 12 to 16 cm.[9] The Seahorse Trust reports that seahorses have excellent eyesight and their eyes can work independently on either side of their head.[10] The Seahorse Trust notes that seahorses can change color very quickly to match any surroundings.[10] The same article reports that the spiny seahorse is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.[11]

The Oceanographic Magazine describes Studland Bay as the most important spiny seahorse site in the UK and potentially throughout Europe.[11] According to The Seahorse Trust, both British seahorse species occur from the Shetland Isles, mainly down the UK's west coast and all around Ireland, and along the south coast of England.[10] The Oceanographic Magazine article notes that Studland Bay received its Marine Conservation Zone designation in 2019.[11][12]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Seahorse Facts", The Seahorse Trust (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. World Register of Marine Species, Hippocampus guttulatus (AphiaID 154776). CC BY 4.0. marinespecies.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Curtis, J.M.R. and A.C.J. Vincent, 2006. Life history of an unusual marine fish: survival, growth and movement patterns of Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier 1829. J; "Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829", DORIS, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hippocampus guttulatus Hippocampe moucheté", cotebleue (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bosso, "Integrating citizen science and spatial ecology to inform management and conservation of the Italian seahorses", Ecological Informatics, 2024-03-01; "Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829", DORIS, 2014; Dawson, C.E., 1990. Syngnathidae. p. 658–664. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern trop; Lourie, S.A., S.J. Foster, E.W.T. Cooper and A.C.J. Vincent, 2004. A guide to the identification of seahorses. Project Seahorse and TRAFFIC North America. Washi; Pol en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Foster, S.J. and A.C.J. Vincent, 2004. Life history and ecology of seahorses: implications for conservation and management. J. Fish Biol. 65:1-61.; Bosso, "Integrating citizen science and spatial ecology to inform management and conservation of the Italian seahorses", Ecological Informatics, 2024-03-01; "Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829", DORIS, 2014; Lelong, P., 1995. Hippocampe moucheté, Hippocampus ramolosus. Océanorama (Institut Océanographique Paul Ricard) No. 24, June 1995, p. 19–20.; Foster, S.J. and A.C.J. Vincent, 2004 en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829", DORIS, 2014 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Planas, "Establishment and maintenance of threatened long-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus, broodstock in captivity", Aquaculture, 1 October 2008, p. 19–28 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. "Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829", DORIS, 2014. facts only, no text reused. doris.ffessm.fr
  10. "Seahorse Facts", The Seahorse Trust. facts only, no text reused. theseahorsetrust.org
  11. Nane Steinhoff, "Safe haven:Protecting Devon's spiny seahorse", Oceanographic Magazine. facts only, no text reused. oceanographicmagazine.com
  12. Wikipedia, "Long-snouted seahorse" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Nane Steinhoff, "Safe haven:Protecting Devon's spiny seahorse", Oceanographic Magazine; Bosso, "Integrating citizen science and spatial ecology to inform management and conservation of the Italian seahorses", Ecological Informatics, 2024-03-01; Bosso, "Integrating citizen science and spatial ecology to inform management and conservation of the Italian seahorses", Ecological Informatics, 2024-03-01 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Long-snouted seahorse (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Same family (Syngnathidae)

Acentronura breviperula Acentronura breviperulaAlligator pipefish Syngnathoides biaculeatusBanded pipefish Dunckerocampus dactyliophorusBay pipefish Syngnathus leptorhynchusBlack-striped pipefish Syngnathus abasterBroadnosed pipefish Syngnathus typhle

Named in this entry

Canary IslandsAzores

More in Seahorses and Pipefish

Hippocampus naluNew Holland seahorsePacific seahorseHippocampus patagonicusHippocampus pontohiShort-snouted seahorseSlender seahorseHippocampus slovenicusSpiny seahorseTiger tail seahorseWest African seahorseDuncker's pipehorse

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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