Short-snouted seahorse

Short-snouted seahorse
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gasterosteiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species: H. hippocampus
Binomial name
Hippocampus hippocampus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms[2]
  • Syngnathus hippocampus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Hippocampus antiquorum Leach, in Leach & Nodder, 1814
  • Hippocampus antiquus Risso, 1827
  • Hippocampus brevirostris Schinz, 1822
  • Hippocampus europaeus Ginsburg, 1933
  • Hippocampus heptagonus Rafinesque, 1810
  • Hippocampus pentagonus Ginsburg, 1937
  • Hippocampus vulgaris Cloquet, 1821

The short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) is a species of seahorse in the family Syngnathidae. It is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the North Atlantic, particularly around Italy and the Canary Islands. Colonies of the species have recently been discovered in the River Thames around London and Southend-on-Sea.[3]

Their preferred habitat is shallow muddy waters, estuaries or seagrass beds.[3]

Protection

In the United Kingdom they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.[4] In 2010, the London Zoo, which operates short-snouted seahorse breeding programme, saw the birth of 918 baby seahorses.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Woodall, L. (2012). "Hippocampus hippocampus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 2015-02-04.
  2. ↑ "Taxon: Hippocampus hippocampus (C. Linnaeus, 1758) - short-snouted seahorse". The Taxonomicon. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Rare seahorses breeding in Thames". BBC News. 2007-04-07.
  4. ↑ "Project Seahorse". Zoological Society of London. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Seahorse breeding programme". Zoological Society of London. Retrieved June 3, 2016.


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