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Hippocampus fuscus Rüppell, 1838

Sea pony
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
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Hippocampus fuscus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Hippocampus fuscus (Sea pony)
Hippocampus fuscus
Female picture by Lourie, S.A.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Syngnathiformes (Pipefishes and seahorses) > Syngnathidae (Pipefishes and seahorses) > Syngnathinae
Etymology: Hippocampus: Greek, ippos = horse + Greek,kampe = curvature (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Rüppell.

Issue
This species is a synonym of Hippocampus kuda Weber, 1913 according to Lourie et al., 2016 (Ref. 115213). This species record will be removed.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; amphidromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 10 m (Ref. 52034). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Indian Ocean: Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, and Sri Lanka. Records from South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion are questionable.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 8.0  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.4 cm OT male/unsexed; (Ref. 47822)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 14 - 17.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Length type refers to height (= TL - head length). Occurs in eelgrass beds (Zostera sp.) in lagoons. Used in India for traditional medicines. Diurnal. Adults pair-bond and greet on daily basis in the laboratory (Ref. 30915). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 205). The male carries the eggs in a brood pouch which is found under the tail (Ref. 205).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Adults pair-bond and greet on a daily basis in the laboratory (Ref. 35709). Monogamous mating is observed as both obligate and genetic (Ref. 52884). Male carries the eggs in a brood pouch (Ref. 205). Gestation period is about 14 days depending on temperature (Ref. 30915). Clutch size is about 30-140 (from dropped clutches) (Ref. 30915).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Lourie, S.A., A.C.J. Vincent and H.J. Hall, 1999. Seahorses: an identification guide to the world's species and their conservation. Project Seahorse, London. 214 p. (Ref. 30915)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Appendix II: International trade monitored

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
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Ecology
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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References

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 24.8 - 29.3, mean 28.2 °C (based on 1106 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00447 (0.00175 - 0.01142), b=2.99 (2.77 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.4   ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tm=0.3-0.4).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.