Big-belly seahorse
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| Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson, 1827 |
The big-belly seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae, found off southern Australia, and around New Zealand, from low tide level down to 100 m. Its length is up to 35 cm.
The big-belly seahorse has a forward-tilted, long-snouted head, distended but narrow pot belly, and a long coiled tail. It swims using its dorsal fin with a vertical stance - when not swimming it coils its prehensile tail around any suitable growth, such as seaweed, waiting for planktonic animals to drift by when they are plucked by the small mouth set at the tip of the snout.
On the lower portion of the abdomen males have a brood pouch in which the female lays her large eggs. They are fertilised by the male and incubated until birth.
Their colouring is a variable shade of brown, mottled with yellow-brown and with darker splotches. The tail is often circled with yellow bands. In deeper water where the tail is anchored to other colourful forms of life, such as sponges and hydroids, they often take on these colours.
[edit] References
- "Hippocampus abdominalis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- Tony Ayling & Geoffrey Cox, Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, (William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1982) ISBN 0-00-216987-8
