Animal Species:Pygmy Seahorse, Hippocampus bargibanti Whitley, 1970

As its name implies, the Pygmy Seahorse is a tiny fish.  It lives on gorgonians (sea fans) of the genus Muricella.

Pygmy Seahorse, Hippocampus bargibanti

Pygmy Seahorse, Hippocampus bargibanti
Erik Schlögl © Erik Schlögl

Identification

The Pygmy Seahorse has a short snout, rounded knob-like coronet and irregular bulbous tubercles on the body. It has a rounded spine above each eye and on each cheek.

Two colour morphs are recorded for this species, one is pale grey or purple with pink or red tubercles, the second is yellow with orange tubercles.

Size range

The Pygmy Seahorse grows to 2 cm in length.

Distribution

This species is known from coral reefs of the Western Pacific including Australia.

The map below shows the Australian distribution of the species based on public sightings and specimens in Australian Museums.  Source: Atlas of Living Australia.

Hippocampus bargibanti

Distribution by collection data

Ozcam map of Pygmy Seahorse specimens in the Australian Museums.

What does this mean?

Habitat

The species is found only on gorgonians (sea fans) of the genus Muricella, in depths of 16 m to 40 m.

Other behaviours and adaptations

It is remarkably well camouflaged. The colour of the fish matches the gorgonian it inhabits, and the body tubercles look very similar to the polyps of the gorgonian.

Classification

Species:
bargibanti
Genus:
Hippocampus
Family:
Syngnathidae
Order:
Gasterosteiformes
Class:
Actinopterygii
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Phylum:
Chordata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?

References

  1. Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. A Comprehensive Guide to Syngnathiformes. TMC Publishing Pp. 240.
  2. Kuiter, R.H. 2001. Revision of the Australian Seahorses of the Genus Hippocampus (Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae) with Descriptions of Nine New Species. Records of the Australian Museum. 53: 293-340.
  3. Lourie, S.A., Vincent, C.J. & H.J. Hall. 1999. Seahorses. An Identification Guide to the World's Species and their Conservation. Project Seahorse. Pp. 214.
  4. Whitley, G.P. 1970. [Bargibant's sea-horse from New Caledonia] in Abstracts of Proceedings. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 94(3) No.421:294.


Mark McGrouther , Collection Manager, Ichthyology
Last Updated:

Tags fiahes, fishes, ichthyology, Pygmy Seahorse, Hippocampus bargibanti, red, white, mottled, < 10 cm, lumpy, blotched/mottled, coral reefs, marine, adult,