Where Big-belly seahorse has been recorded
GBIF occurrence records for Hippocampus abdominalis, mapped and tabulated by country.
3,421 georeferenced occurrence records with coordinates are published for Hippocampus abdominalis through GBIF, from 3 countries or marine areas. This page maps those records and lists where they come from. Occurrence records reflect where people have looked as well as where the species lives, so well-surveyed coastlines are over-represented.
- Georeferenced records
- 3,421
- Countries / areas
- 3
- Mapped locations
- 42
- Records sampled for the map
- 3,000
- Inland records omitted
- 52
- Gbif taxonkey
- 5201032
Countries and areas with the most records (GBIF)
Australia — 2,947 records; New Zealand — 473 records; United States of America — 1 records.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 5201032) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=5201032&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Marine regions with a WoRMS distribution record
New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone.
Source: WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=275182 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-23.
How to read this map
The map plots a sample of 3,000 of the 3,421 records, deduplicated to a half-degree grid, so dense areas do not merge into one blob. The sample covers 3 of the 3 countries or areas with records; the areas absent from the sample hold 0 records in total.
52 records plotting inland were omitted: for a marine species those are almost always the holding institution's coordinates rather than a collection site.
Records show where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.
Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 5201032) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=5201032&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=275182 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-23.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where has the Big-belly seahorse been recorded?
Hippocampus abdominalis has documented occurrences spanning three countries or marine areas, with 42 distinct mapped locations drawn from a sample of 3,000 records.
How many occurrence records exist for the Big-belly seahorse?
A total of 3,421 georeferenced occurrence records with coordinates are published through GBIF under taxon key 5201032.
Why do some coastal areas show more Big-belly seahorse records than others?
Occurrence data partly reflects where researchers have looked rather than true abundance, so heavily surveyed coastlines appear over-represented in the dataset.
Are there any inland records of the Big-belly seahorse?
Fifty-two inland records were identified in the dataset but excluded from the distribution map, as they most likely represent data-entry errors or misidentified specimens.
How many locations are actually plotted on the distribution map?
The map displays 42 distinct mapped locations, sampled from 3,000 of the 3,421 total available records.
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