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Giraffe seahorse
From Wikipedia - Reading time: 5 min
| Giraffe seahorse | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Syngnathiformes |
| Family: | Syngnathidae |
| Genus: | Hippocampus |
| Species: | H. camelopardalis
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| Binomial name | |
| Hippocampus camelopardalis Bianconi, 1854
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| Synonyms[3] | |
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The giraffe seahorse (Hippocampus camelopardalis) is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae.[4] It is found in coastal waters off of the south and east coasts of Africa, from South Africa to Tanzania, and possibly north to Kenya.[1] It lives in estuarine seagrass beds, algae beds, and shallow reefs to depths of 45 metres (148 ft), where it can grow to lengths of 10 centimetres (3.9 in).[1][5] It is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other seahorses. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young. Individuals are sexually mature at around 6.5 centimetres (2.6 in).[5] Major threats to this species could be habitat loss, through coastal development and pollution, and overexploitation through bycatch.[1] Some other threats include human use by drying out the seahorse for traditional medicine or as a curio.
Some distinctive characteristics include dark spots, one on the top of the coronet or crown of the seahorse's head and some on the dorso-lateral surface of the seahorse. It has a prominent spine above its eye in both the female and male specimen.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Pollom, R. (2017). "Hippocampus camelopardalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T10064A100939136. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T10064A100939136.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Hippocampus camelopardis". FishBase. February 2018 version.
- ^ Scales, Helen (2009). Poseidon's Steed: The Story of Seahorses, From Myth to Reality. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-101-13376-7. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ a b Lourie, S.A., A.C.J. Vincent and H.J. Hall, 1999. Seahorses: an identification guide to the world's species and their conservation. Project Seahorse, London. p.214
Further reading
[edit]- iNaturalist
- Encyclopedia of Life
- WoRMS
- iSeahorse
- IUCN Seahorse, Pipefish & Stickleback Specialist Group
- [1]
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