Name: Pot-bellied seahorse, big-belly seahorse
Scientific Name: Hippocampus abdominalis (Lesson, 1827)
Family: Syngnathidae
Group: Bony fish
Class: Fish
Size: 26-50 cm.
This fish populates calm tidal pool waters and around jetty pylons in bays. During the day it remains immobile, concealed among algae and sponges, to which it attaches itself with its tail. At night, it forms small groups that swim slowly. It does not have a stomach or teeth, so its prey are swallowed whole and quickly pass to the digestive tract. Both sexes are easily distinguished; compared with the females, the males are much heavier and pigmented, with a bigger tail and a shorter and more robust snout. Following mating, the female deposits her eggs in a pouch in the male's abdomen, where they incubate for 28 days before hatching.
Photo by:
seahorse.fisheries.ubc.ca
Rocky reef of the Pacific
