Seahorses
Many people are unaware that seahorses are in fact fish. They have evolved some interesting adaptations to life in the sea. The combination of a horse-like snout (for sneaking up on small crustaceans), bony plates (to protect them against predators), and a prehensile tail that allows them to cling to seagrasses, corals, and other holdfasts in ocean currents, has enabled these slow-swimming animals to survive for millions of years.
There are 46 recognised species of seahorses. Given their superior camouflage and the subtle differences between some species, taxonomists have long struggled on delineating and identifying them based on appearance alone. The rise of genomics and other molecular techniques will hopefully shed light on this matter and eventually provide a much clearer picture.
Check out the profiles of the seahorse species we currently recognize below (according to Lourie et al., 2016).
Hippocampus (Seahorses)
Species |
Range |
IUCN |
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Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson, 1827 English common names: Pot-bellied seahorse, Big-belly seahorse, Large seahorse, Eastern potbelly seahorse, Australian potbelly seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. algiricus Kaup, 1856 English common names: West African seahorse |
Eastern Atlantic |
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H. angustus Günther, 1870 English common names: Narrow-bellied seahorse, Western Australian seahorse, Western spiny seahorse, Northern spiny seahorse, Eastern spiny seahorse, Big-head seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. barbouri Jordan & Richardson, 1908 English common names: Barbour's seahorse, Zebra-snout seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. bargibanti Whitley, 1970 English common names: Bargibant's seahorse, Gorgonian seahorse, Pygmy seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. breviceps Peters, 1869 English common names: Knobby seahorse, Short-headed seahorse, Short-snouted seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. camelopardalis Bianconi, 1854 English common names: Giraffe seahorse |
Western Indian & Eastern Atlantic |
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H. capensis Boulenger, 1900 English common names: Knysna seahorse, Cape seahorse |
Eastern Atlantic |
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H. casscsio Zhang, Qin, Wang & Lin, 2016 English common names: Beibu Bay seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. colemani Kuiter, 2003 English common names: Coleman's pygmy seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. comes Cantor, 1849 English common names: Tiger-tail seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. coronatus Temminck & Schlegel, 1850 English common names: High-crowned seahorse, Crowned seahorse, Horned seahorse, Common Japanese seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. dahli Ogilby, 1908 English common names: Lowcrown seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. debelius Gomon & Kuiter, 2009 English common names: Softcoral seahorse |
Western Indian |
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H. denise Lourie & Randall, 2003 English common names: Denise's pygmy seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. erectus Perry, 1810 English common names: Lined seahorse, Horsefish, Northern seahorse, Spotted seahorse |
Western Atlantic |
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H. fisheri Jordan & Evermann, 1903 English common names: Fisher's seahorse, Hawaiian seahorse, Pelagic seahorse |
Central Pacific |
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H. guttulatus Cuvier, 1829 English common names: Long-snouted seahorse, Spiny seahorse, Maned seahorse |
Eastern Atlantic |
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H. haema Han, Kim, Kai & Senou, 2017 English common names: Korean seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. hippocampus (Linnaeus, 1758) English common names: Short-snouted seahorse |
Eastern Atlantic |
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H. histrix Kaup, 1856 English common names: Thorny seahorse, Longspine seahorse, Spiny seahorse |
Indian Ocean, Central & Western Pacific |
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H. ingens Girard, 1858 English common names: Giant seahorse, Pacific seahorse, Pacific giant seahorse |
Eastern Pacific |
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H. japapigu Short, Smith, Motomura, Harasti & Hamilton, 2018 English common names: Japanese pygmy seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. jayakari Boulenger, 1900 English common names: Jayakar's seahorse |
Western Indian |
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H. jugumus Kuiter, 2001 English common names: Collared seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. kelloggi Jordan & Snyder, 1901 English common names: Great seahorse, Kellogg's seahorse, Offshore seahorse |
Indian Ocean & Western Pacific |
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H. kuda Bleeker, 1852 English common names: Spotted seahorse, Common seahorse, Estuarine seahorse, Yellow seahorse, Smooth seahorse, Sad seahorse, Dull seahorse, Oceanic seahorse |
Indian Ocean, Central & Western Pacific |
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H. minotaur Gomon, 1997 English common names: Bullneck seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. mohnikei Bleeker, 1853 English common names: Japanese seahorse, Lemur-tail seahorse |
Eastern Indian, Central & Western Pacific |
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H. nalu Short, Claassens, Smith, de Brauwer, Hamilton, Stat & Harasti, 2020 English common names: Sodwana pygmy seahorse, South African pygmy seahorse, Honeypot seahorse |
Western Indian |
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H. paradoxus Foster & Gomon, 2010 English common names: Paradoxical seahorse |
Eastern Indian |
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H. patagonicus Piacentino & Luzzatto, 2004 English common names: Patagonian seahorse |
Western Atlantic |
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H. planifrons Peters, 1877 English common names: Flatface seahorse, False-eye seahorse, Flatnose seahorse, Lowcrowned seahorse |
Eastern Indian |
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H. pontohi Lourie & Kuiter, 2008 English common names: Pontoh`s pygmy seahorse, Weedy pygmy seahorse, Severn's pygmy seahorse, Pygmy seahorse |
Eastern Indian, Central & Western Pacific |
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H. pusillus Fricke, 2004 English common names: Dwarf thorny seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. reidi Ginsburg, 1933 English common names: Long-snout seahorse, Slender seahorse |
Western Atlantic |
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H. satomiae Lourie & Kuiter, 2008 English common names: Satomi's pygmy seahorse |
Central, Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. sindonis Jordan & Snyder, 1901 English common names: Sindo's seahorse, Shiho's seahorse, Painted seahorse, Crowned seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. spinosissimus Weber, 1913 English common names: Hedgehog seahorse, Spiny seahorse, Winged seahorse, Queensland seahorse, Halfspine seahorse |
Central, Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. subelongatus Castelnau, 1873 English common names: West Australian seahorse, Tiger snout seahorse |
Eastern Indian |
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H. trimaculatus Leach, 1814 English common names: Three-spot seahorse, Flat-faced seahorse, Longnose seahorse, Low-crowned seahorse, Smooth seahorse |
Central, Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. tyro Randall & Lourie, 2009 English common names: Tyro seahorse |
Western Indian |
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H. waleananus Gomon & Kuiter, 2009 English common names: Walea soft coral pygmy seahorse, Walea pygmy seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. whitei Bleeker, 1855 English common names: White's seahorse, New holland seahorse, Sydney seahorse, High-crown seahorse, Common seahorse |
Western Pacific |
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H. zebra Whitley, 1964 English common names: Zebra seahorse, Monte Bello seahorse |
Eastern Indian & Western Pacific |
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H. zosterae Jordan & Gilbert, 1882 English common names: Dwarf seahorse, Pygmy seahorse, Little seahorse, Lichtenstein's Seahorse |
Western Atlantic |
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IUCN Red List categories
Click here for a full explanation of IUCN Red List categories. A brief key is provided below.
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| Extinct | Extinct in the Wild |
Critically Endangered |
Endangered | Vulnerable | Near Threatened |
Least Concern |
Data Deficient |
Not Evaluated |
A note on ‘Data Deficient’ species: Species that are assessed as Data Deficient are deemed to have insufficient information known about them to carry out a proper conservation assessment. Although such species are not assessed as threatened, we may find out that they in fact are, once enough data is obtained.
Banner image of spiny seahorse (Hippocampus histrix) © poseidon_photography / iNaturalist
Image of Pot-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) © marciariederer / iNaturalist
Image of West African seahorse (Hippocampus algiricus) © benjobson / iNaturalist
Image of Narrow-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus angustus) © kjadiver / iNaturalist
Image of Barbour's seahorse (Hippocampus barbouri) © tantsusoo / iNaturalist
Image of Bargibant's seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) © julianhsu / iNaturalist
Image of Knobby seahorse (Hippocampus breviceps) © wilson86934 / iNaturalist
Image of Giraffe seahorse (Hippocampus camelopardalis) © juliangums / iNaturalist
Image of Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis) © callumevans / iNaturalist
Illustration of seahorse (Hippocampus sp.) © Yuri Katayama
Image of Coleman's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus colemani) © mikejdo / iNaturalist
Image of Tiger-tail seahorse (Hippocampus comes) © sylvain_le_bris / iNaturalist
Image of High-crowned seahorse (Hippocampus coronatus) © Bonnie Waycott
Image of Lowcrown seahorse (Hippocampus dahli) © biepawildlifeteam / iNaturalist
Image of Denise's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) © franca2020 / iNaturalist
Image of Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) © letifish-avenutre / iNaturalist
Image of Fisher's seahorse (Hippocampus fisheri) © cory-pittman / iNaturalist
Image of Long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) © legallais / iNaturalist
Image of Korean seahorse (Hippocampus haema) © Zhang Jinggong
Image of Short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) © dennisthediver / iNaturalist
Image of Thorny seahorse (Hippocampus histrix) © alexandrarawden / iNaturalist
Image of Giant seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) © valeriamas / iNaturalist
Image of Japanese pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus japapigu) © Richard Smith
Image of Jayakar's seahorse (Hippocampus jayakari) © rafi1 / iNaturalist
Image of Collared seahorse (Hippocampus jugumus) © Mark Allen / Australian Museum
Image of Great seahorse (Hippocampus kelloggi) © alantanzania / iNaturalist
Image of Spotted seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) © edblackthorne / iNaturalist
Image of Bullneck seahorse (Hippocampus minotaur) © Martin F. Gomon / Museum of Victoria
Image of Japanese seahorse (Hippocampus mohnikei) © hcj003 / iNaturalist
Image of Sodwana pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus nalu) © Richard Smith
Image of Patagonian seahorse (Hippocampus patagonicus) © gonzalobravo / iNaturalist
Image of Flatface seahorse (Hippocampus planifrons) © alex_h / iNaturalist
Image of Pontoh`s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus pontohi) © sunsetcoveromblon / iNaturalist
Image of Long-snout seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) © juliem_wildphoto / iNaturalist
Image of Satomi's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus satomiae) © Richard Smith
Image of Sindo's seahorse (Hippocampus sindonis) © circle-a / iNaturalist
Image of Hedgehog seahorse (Hippocampus spinosissimus) © anudibranchmom / iNaturalist
Image of West Australian seahorse (Hippocampus subelongatus) © shazandhaz / iNaturalist
Image of Three-spot seahorse (Hippocampus trimaculatus) © franca2020 / iNaturalist
Image of Tyro seahorse (Hippocampus tyro) © jolandadh / iNaturalist
Image of Walea soft coral pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus waleananus) © Richard Smith
Image of White's seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) © daveharasti / iNaturalist
Image of Zebra seahorse (Hippocampus zebra) © anthonyhealy / iNaturalist
Image of Dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) © coralreefdreams / iNaturalist
[Page updated Jul 2026]