Hippocampus kuda

(Bleeker, 1852)

Vernacular names
English : Spotted seahorse
French : Hippocampe doré

Classification
Class : Teleostei
Order : Syngnathiformes
Family : Syngnathidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Adults can grow to 30 cm in length. Snout is thick, coronet rounded, low bumps found on body angles. Males are generally black with clear bands, females often bright yellow with scattered brown spots and saddle-like brown blotches.

Range and habitat
The species lives in the Indo-Pacific area, from Red Sea and East Africa to Hawaii, north to south Japan, south to New Caledonia. Lives in seagrass and marine areas of estuaries and seaward reefs, to 68 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : VULNERABLE
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species is locally common but vulnerable to habitat loss, overcollection and bycatch. Very valuable species, trading levels likely unsustainable.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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