Pygmy seahorse
| Pygmy seahorse | |
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| Species: | H. bargibanti
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| Hippocampus bargibanti Whitley, 1970
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The pygmy seahorse, also known as Bargibanti's seahorse, (Hippocampus bargibanti) is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae found in the western central Pacific Ocean. It is tiny, usually less than 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in size and lives exclusively on fan corals.[2]. There are two known color variations: grey with red tubercles (on gorgonian coral Muricella plectana), and yellow with orange tubercles (on gorgonian coral Muricella paraplectana). Because of its camouflage, the species wasn't discovered until its host gorgonian was being examined in a laboratory.[3] Scientists believe other, similar, species remain to be found.[2]
Description
The pygmy seahorse is well camouflaged, being extremely difficult to spot amongst the gorgonian coral it inhabits. So effective is this camouflage that the species wasn’t actually discovered until its host gorgonian was being examined in a laboratory. Large, bulbous tubercles cover its body and match the colour and shape of the polyps of its host species of gorgonian coral, while its body matches the gorgonian stem. Two colour morphs exist: pale grey or purple individuals scattered with pink or red tubercles are found on the similarly coloured gorgonian coral Muricella plectana, and yellow individuals with orange tubercles are found on gorgonian coral Muricella paraplectana. It is not known whether individuals can change colour if they change hosts, although the ability to change colour according to their surroundings does exist in some other seahorse species, such as Hippocampus whitei. Other distinctive pygmy seahorse characteristics include a fleshy head and body, a very short snout, and a long, prehensile tail. This is also one of the smallest seahorse species in the world, typically measuring less than 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in height.[4]
Distribution
The pygmy seahorse is found in coastal areas ranging from southern Japan and Indonesia to northern Australia and New Caledonia on reefs and slopes at a depth of 10–40 metres (33–131 ft). [5]
Reproduction
Adults are usually found in pairs or clusters of pairs, with up to 28 pygmy seahorses recorded on a single gorgonian, and may be monogamous. Unusually, it is the male, and not the female, that becomes pregnant in seahorses. Breeding occurs year-round. The female lays her eggs in a brood pouch in his trunk region.[2] They are fertilized by the male, and incubated until birth with [2] gestation averaging two weeks. In one birth witnessed underwater, a male ‘gave birth’ to a brood of 34 live young.[4] The young look like miniature adult seahorses, are independent from birth, and receive no further parental care.[5]
References
This article incorporates text from the ARKive fact-file "Pygmy seahorse" under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and the GFDL.
- ^ Template:IUCN2006
- ^ a b c d Epoch Times Staff. (8/11/2011.) "Science in Pictures: Pygmy Seahorses." The Epoch Times, Northern California Edition.
- ^ ARKive species fact-file
- ^ a b Lourie, S.A., Foster, S.J., Cooper, E.W.T. and Vincent, A.C.J. (2004) A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses. Project Seahorse and TRAFFIC North America, Washington D.C..
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Hippocampus bargibanti". FishBase. December 2006 version.
External links
- Pygmy seahorse media from ARKive
