Seahorses of the World
A guide to the 47 species of Seahorses of the World
Pot-bellied Seahorse
The big-belly seahorse or pot bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, is one of the largest seahorse species in the world with a length of up to 35 cm.
Winged Seahorse
Seahorse is the title given to 54 species of marine fish in the genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning "sea monster".
West African Seahorse
The West African seahorse (Hippocampus algiricus) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Algeria, Angola, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.
Narrow-bellied Seahorse
The narrow-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus angustus, is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is open seas.
Barbour's Seahorse
Barbour's seahorse (Hippocampus barbouri) is a species of seahorse. It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Bargibant's Seahorse
The pygmy seahorse, also known as Bargibanti's seahorse, (Hippocampus bargibanti) is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae in the western central Pacific. It is tiny, no larger than about 2.4 cm. There are two known color variations: grey with red tubercles (on gorgonian coral Muricella plectana), and yellow with orange tubercles (on gorgonian coral Muricella ...more ↓
Réunion Seahorse
The Réunion seahorse (Hippocampus borboniensis) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Réunion, South Africa, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Short-snouted Seahorse
The knobby seahorse or short-head seahorse (not to be confused with the Short-snouted seahorse), Hippocampus breviceps, is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are open seas, shallow seas, subtidal aquatic beds, coral reefs, estuarine waters, intertidal flats, coastal saline lagoons, and karsts.
Giraffe Seahorse
The giraffe seahorse (Hippocampus camelopardalis) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Mozambique, South Africa, and Tanzania.
Knysna Seahorse
The cape seahorse or knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to South Africa. It lives in the Keurbooms River in Plettenberg Bay throughout the Knysna lagoon and up to Swartvlei in Sedgefield. The limited range of this seahorse puts it at great risk. It feeds on a variety of zooplankton. Recent surveys ...more ↓
Tiger Tail Seahorse
The tiger tail seahorse (Hippocampus comes) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtidal aquatic beds and coral reefs. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Crowned Seahorse
The crowned seahorse, Hippocampus coronatus, is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to Japan. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds.
Denise's Pygmy Seahorse
Denise's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. They can be found off southern Japan, Indonesia, northern Australia and New Caledonia. Its natural habitat is coral reefs. The pygmy seahorse is undoubtedly one of the most well camouflaged species in the oceans, being very difficult to spot amongst the gorgonian coral it lives ...more ↓
Northern Seahorse
Hippocampus erectus is a Seahorse from the Western Atlantic. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 19cm in length.
Fisher's Seahorse
Fisher's seahorse (Hippocampus fisheri) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in the Hawaiian islands, possibly Australia and possibly New Caledonia.
Sea Pony
The sea pony (Hippocampus fuscus) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Djibouti, India, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, possibly Madagascar, possibly Mauritius, possibly Réunion, and possibly South Africa. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds.
Long-snouted Seahorse
The long-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Morocco, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and possibly Senegal. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Short-snouted Seahorse
The short-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus hippocampus, is a species of seahorse in the family Syngnathidae. It is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the North Atlantic, particularly around Italy and the Canary Islands. Colonies of the species have recently been discovered in the River Thames around London and Southend-on-Sea.
Spiny Seahorse
Hippocampus histrix is a Seahorse from the Indo-Pacific. It occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade. It grows to a size of 17cm in length.
Giant Seahorse
The Pacific seahorse (Hippocampus ingens) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and the United States. Its natural habitat is coral reefs. It is threatened by habitat loss. The genus name is derived from the Greek hippos or "horse" and campus or "sea ...more ↓
Jayakar's Seahorse
Jayakar's seahorse (Hippocampus jayakari) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in the oceans surrounding Israel, Oman, and Pakistan. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds.
Great Seahorse
The great seahorse, Kellogg's seahorse, or offshore seahorse (Hippocampus kelloggi) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in possibly Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Tanzania, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is shallow seas.
Common Sea Horse
Hippocampus kuda, also known as the common seahorse, is a member of the family Syngnathidae of the order Syngnathiformes. The common sea horse is a small, equine-like fish, with extraordinary breeding methods. 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 ...more ↓
Lichtenstein's Seahorse
Lichtenstein's Seahorse, Hippocampus lichtensteinii, is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family.
Bullneck Seahorse
The Bullneck Seahorse (Hippocampus minotaur) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are open seas, shallow seas, subtidal aquatic beds, coral reefs, estuarine waters, and karsts.
Japanese Seahorse
The Japanese seahorse (in Japanese, kitano-umi-uma and sangotatsu) or lemur-tail seahorse (Hippocampus mohnikei) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. The Japanese seahorse reaches a maximum length of 8.0 cm, is usually dark brown and has a relatively long tail, a ridgelike coronet and flattened spines. Many seahorse species look similar, ...more ↓
Longsnout Seahorse
The longsnout seahorse or slender seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is naturally found in the shallow, coastal waters around Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, the United States, and Venezuela.
Hippocampus satomiae
Satomi's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus satomiae) is the smallest known seahorse in the world with an average length of 13.8 millimetres (0.54 in) and an approximate height of 11.5 millimetres (0.45 in).
Shiho's Seahorse
Shiho's seahorse, Hippocampus sindonis, is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to Japan.
Hedgehog Seahorse
The hedgehog seahorse (Hippocampus spinosissimus) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is coral reefs. It is threatened by habitat loss.
West Australian Seahorse
The tiger snout seahorse or West Australian seahorse (Hippocampus subelongatus) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are open seas and shallow seas.
Three-spot Seahorse
The flat-faced seahorse, longnose seahorse, low-crowned seahorse, or three-spot seahorse, Hippocampus trimaculatus, is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Australia, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is shallow ...more ↓
New Holland Seahorse
The New Holland seahorse, Sydney seahorse, or White's seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Australia and the Solomon Islands. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds .
Zebra Seahorse
The Zebra Seahorse (Hippocampus zebra) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is endemic to Australia.
Dwarf Seahorse
The dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) is a species of seahorse. It is found in the Bahamas and the United States. Its natural habitat is subtidal aquatic beds. It is threatened by habitat loss. According to Guinness World Records, it is the slowest moving fish, with a top speed of about five feet per hour (152 cm per hour).
