HIPPOCAMPUS TAENIOPTERUS - (BLEEKER, 1852)
Actinopteri (Class) > Syngnathiformes (Order) > Syngnathidae (Family) > Hippocampinae (Subfamily) > Hippocampus (Genus)
Hippocampe commun, Common seahorse,
Description
L'hippocampe commun est de grande taille, il peut atteindre 22cm. De couleur brun à noir avec des petites taches blanches sur la tête chez le mâle, la femelle étant souvent de couleur jaune. Son corps est plutôt lisse avec quelques protubérances arrondies et son tronc constitué de 11 anneaux est assez robuste. Sa queue comprend plus d'une trentaine d'anneaux. Son museau est épais et court. Profondeur 1 - 20m.
Etymologie
Hippocampus : Vient du Grec [hippocampos], de [hippós] = cheval et [kampé] = courbure. En traduction littérale : cheval courbé.
taeniopterus : Vient du Grec taeni-, taenio = rubban, bande, rayure et de l'ancien Grec, pterón = aile.
Description originale : Hippocampus taeniopterus, Bleeker, 1852 - Localité type : Ile d'Ambon, Moluques, archipel à l'est de l'Indonésie.
Distribution
Pacifique Ouest : Indonesie, Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée jusqu'au Fidji, du sud de l'Australie et la Nouvelle-Calédonie
Biologie
Animal benthique, l'hippocampe commun vit sur des fonds sablo-vaseux, en bordure des herbiers de phanérogames. Utilise ces plantes pour s'y accrocher en enroulant sa queue autour. Il vit en général à faible profondeur, ne dépassant pas les 20m. Carnivore, il aspire les petits mollusques et vers qui sont enfouis dans le sable.
Espèce ressemblante
Hippocampus kuda (Bleeker, 1852) n'est pas présent en Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Synomymes
Hippocampus melanospilos (Bleeker, 1854)
Hippocampus novaehebudorum (Fowler, 1944)
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Description
Dorsal fin 17-18; Pectoral fin 16-18 (rarely 17 or 18); trunk rings 11; tail rings 34-35; subdorsal rings 2 + 1-2.
Snout thick in adults, length about equal to post-orbital distance, much shorter than half head length;
Spines low and blunt in juveniles, reducing or becoming rounded and knob-like in adults; subdorsal spines 3-4/0,1,1-0,1,1,1; nasal spine small; shoulder-ring spines small, uppermost at gill-opening, central spine at level of lower pectoral-fin ray, lowermost single, not enlarged; large specimens often with many papillae on nape, interorbital and body.
Coronet small but well developed, appearing 'back-swept', with 5 divergent sharp spines on apex in young, spines becoming proportionally smaller with growth; in large adults, apex smooth with 3 rounded points angled posteriorly.
Lateral line pores small, somewhat distinct, becoming intermittent on tail, ranging to 20th ring. Pores often positioned between 2 large papillae, although large specimens usually have many additional papillae on nape and interorbital, as well as body.
Height to 22 cm.
Colour
In life, overall grey to brown, often with fine dark spots, pale scribbles and striations; females sometimes yellow with pupil-sized black spots that may elongate on trunk over rings. In preservative - pale to dark brown, usually with small dark spots.
Etymology
Hippocampus: From Greek, [hippós] = horse + Greek, [kampé] = curvature.
taeniopterus: from the Greek, taeni-, taenio = ribbon, band, stripe, tapeworm + from Ancient Greek, pterón = wing.
Original description: Hippocampus taeniopterus, Bleeker, 1852 - Type locality: Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.
Greeks and Romans believed the seahorse was an attribute of the sea god Poseidon/Neptune, and the seahorse was considered a symbol of strength and power. Europeans believed that the seahorse carried the souls of deceased sailors to the underworld - giving them safe passage and protection until they met their soul's destination.
Distribution
Western Pacific: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and to Fiji, south to Australia and New Caledonia.
Biology
The Common Seahorse inhabits shallow estuaries, harbours and bays, often sheltering along the edges of seagrass beds or amongst mangroves in depths to about 15 m.
During the wet season, juveniles and adults may be carried well-offshore on floating weeds.
Carnivores. Like most other seahorses, this species presumably feeds by sucking small prey items such as crustaceans and planktonic zooplankton in through the long snout.
Sexes separate, males brood the developing embryos and give birth to tiny independent young. The female uses an ovipositor to transfer her eggs into an elaborate enclosed pouch under the abdomen of the male. The male provides physical protection for the developing embryos, he also osmoregulates and aerates the embryos and may provide some nourishment until the offspring are born.
Similar Species
Hippocampus taeniopterus is most similar, and often confused with Hippocampus kuda (Bleeker, 1852), a species not found in Australian waters. Hippocampu kuda differs in having slight meristic and morphological differences, as well as usually having dermal appendages on the head spines, coronet, and on the enlarged spines or tubercles of superior ridges.
Hippocampe commun, Common seahorse,
Description
L'hippocampe commun est de grande taille, il peut atteindre 22cm. De couleur brun à noir avec des petites taches blanches sur la tête chez le mâle, la femelle étant souvent de couleur jaune. Son corps est plutôt lisse avec quelques protubérances arrondies et son tronc constitué de 11 anneaux est assez robuste. Sa queue comprend plus d'une trentaine d'anneaux. Son museau est épais et court. Profondeur 1 - 20m.
Etymologie
Hippocampus : Vient du Grec [hippocampos], de [hippós] = cheval et [kampé] = courbure. En traduction littérale : cheval courbé.
taeniopterus : Vient du Grec taeni-, taenio = rubban, bande, rayure et de l'ancien Grec, pterón = aile.
Description originale : Hippocampus taeniopterus, Bleeker, 1852 - Localité type : Ile d'Ambon, Moluques, archipel à l'est de l'Indonésie.
Distribution
Pacifique Ouest : Indonesie, Papouasie Nouvelle-Guinée jusqu'au Fidji, du sud de l'Australie et la Nouvelle-Calédonie
Biologie
Animal benthique, l'hippocampe commun vit sur des fonds sablo-vaseux, en bordure des herbiers de phanérogames. Utilise ces plantes pour s'y accrocher en enroulant sa queue autour. Il vit en général à faible profondeur, ne dépassant pas les 20m. Carnivore, il aspire les petits mollusques et vers qui sont enfouis dans le sable.
Espèce ressemblante
Hippocampus kuda (Bleeker, 1852) n'est pas présent en Nouvelle-Calédonie.
Synomymes
Hippocampus melanospilos (Bleeker, 1854)
Hippocampus novaehebudorum (Fowler, 1944)
---------------------------------------------
Description
Dorsal fin 17-18; Pectoral fin 16-18 (rarely 17 or 18); trunk rings 11; tail rings 34-35; subdorsal rings 2 + 1-2.
Snout thick in adults, length about equal to post-orbital distance, much shorter than half head length;
Spines low and blunt in juveniles, reducing or becoming rounded and knob-like in adults; subdorsal spines 3-4/0,1,1-0,1,1,1; nasal spine small; shoulder-ring spines small, uppermost at gill-opening, central spine at level of lower pectoral-fin ray, lowermost single, not enlarged; large specimens often with many papillae on nape, interorbital and body.
Coronet small but well developed, appearing 'back-swept', with 5 divergent sharp spines on apex in young, spines becoming proportionally smaller with growth; in large adults, apex smooth with 3 rounded points angled posteriorly.
Lateral line pores small, somewhat distinct, becoming intermittent on tail, ranging to 20th ring. Pores often positioned between 2 large papillae, although large specimens usually have many additional papillae on nape and interorbital, as well as body.
Height to 22 cm.
Colour
In life, overall grey to brown, often with fine dark spots, pale scribbles and striations; females sometimes yellow with pupil-sized black spots that may elongate on trunk over rings. In preservative - pale to dark brown, usually with small dark spots.
Etymology
Hippocampus: From Greek, [hippós] = horse + Greek, [kampé] = curvature.
taeniopterus: from the Greek, taeni-, taenio = ribbon, band, stripe, tapeworm + from Ancient Greek, pterón = wing.
Original description: Hippocampus taeniopterus, Bleeker, 1852 - Type locality: Ambon Island, Molucca Islands, Indonesia.
Greeks and Romans believed the seahorse was an attribute of the sea god Poseidon/Neptune, and the seahorse was considered a symbol of strength and power. Europeans believed that the seahorse carried the souls of deceased sailors to the underworld - giving them safe passage and protection until they met their soul's destination.
Distribution
Western Pacific: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and to Fiji, south to Australia and New Caledonia.
Biology
The Common Seahorse inhabits shallow estuaries, harbours and bays, often sheltering along the edges of seagrass beds or amongst mangroves in depths to about 15 m.
During the wet season, juveniles and adults may be carried well-offshore on floating weeds.
Carnivores. Like most other seahorses, this species presumably feeds by sucking small prey items such as crustaceans and planktonic zooplankton in through the long snout.
Sexes separate, males brood the developing embryos and give birth to tiny independent young. The female uses an ovipositor to transfer her eggs into an elaborate enclosed pouch under the abdomen of the male. The male provides physical protection for the developing embryos, he also osmoregulates and aerates the embryos and may provide some nourishment until the offspring are born.
Similar Species
Hippocampus taeniopterus is most similar, and often confused with Hippocampus kuda (Bleeker, 1852), a species not found in Australian waters. Hippocampu kuda differs in having slight meristic and morphological differences, as well as usually having dermal appendages on the head spines, coronet, and on the enlarged spines or tubercles of superior ridges.