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Half-spined Seahorse

Hippocampus spinosissimus

  • Fish
  • IUCN: Vulnerable
  • Usual depth10–61 m
  • Water temperature23–29 °C
  • Best monthsSeptember, October, and November
  • How commonRare
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About this species

The hedgehog seahorse is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae. It inhabits coastal waters from India and Sri Lanka to Taiwan and northern Australia. It is threatened by overfishing, as both targeted catch and bycatch. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hedgehog seahorse”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

  • January: 0 records
  • February: 2 records
  • March: 2 records
  • April: 4 records
  • May: 2 records
  • June: 2 records
  • July: 1 records
  • August: 0 records
  • September: 11 records
  • October: 9 records
  • November: 12 records
  • December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 10–61 m · Deepest record: 62 m

  • 0–10 m: 1 records
  • 10–20 m: 2 records
  • 20–30 m: 4 records
  • 30–40 m: 1 records
  • 40–50 m: 4 records
  • 50–60 m: 1 records
  • 60–70 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C

  • 22–24 °C: 5 records
  • 24–26 °C: 32 records
  • 26–28 °C: 18 records
  • 28–30 °C: 15 records

Names and classification

English
Half-spined Seahorse, Halfspine Seahorse, Hedgehog seahorse, Queensland Seahorse, spiny seahorse, Winged Seahorse
Names in 6 more languages
German
Igelseepferdchen, Stacheliges Seepferdchen
Spanish
Caballito del mar alado, Caballito de Mar Alado, Caballito de Mar Erizo
French
Cheval marin, Grand hippocampe
Japanese
Tamayoritatsu, タマヨリタツ
Thai
ม้าน้ำหนาม
Simplified Chinese
Ji hai ma, 棘海馬, 棘海马, 海馬

Other scientific names: Hippocampus aimei, Hippocampus alatus, Hippocampus arnei, Hippocampus queenslandicus, Hippocampus semispinosus

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

  • Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
  • Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
  • Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
  • 273 open-data records from 1937 to 2017.

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