Name: Long-snouted seahorse, seahorse
Scientific Name: Hippocampus guttulatus Cuvier, 1829
Family: Syngnathidae
Group: Bony fish
Class: Fish
Size: 11-25 cm.
These seahorses are distinguished from others that are also in our waters (H. hippocampus), for their longer snout and appendages on the head, which resemble branches. Their reproduction is interesting, with the females depositing the eggs in a pouch in the male's abdomen where he incubates them for 5 weeks. At the end of this time, the pouch repeatedly contracts until the small hatchlings are released. We can find these seahorses tied by their tail to gorgonian branches and algae, or swimming slowly. However, we should resist the temptation to catch them as they are at risk of one day disappearing from our coasts.
Photo by:
www.sarman-dejan.com
Seagrass beds
