Bigbelly Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson 1827
A male Bigbelly Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis, in Port Phillip, Victoria, May 2013. Source: Julian K. Finn / Museum Victoria. License: CC by Attribution-NonCommercial
The Bigbelly Seahorse is the largest seahorse in Australia. It has a low triangular coronet, low, rounded bumps above the eyes, and fleshy filaments off the head. Adult males have a very prominent abdomen, whereas females have a compressed abdomen with a keel down the middle.
Individuals range in colour from almost white to a mottled yellow, reddish or even brown, with irregular darker spots and blotches, and a broadly banded tail. They are often seen clinging to sponges and macroalgae.
Bigbelly Seahorse view of the annual spider crab migration in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria.
Bigbelly Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson 1827
More Info
Distribution |
Known from temperate waters of New Zealand and southern Australia, where it occurs from about South West Rocks, New South Wales, southwards to the northern Great Australian Bight, South Australia, and south to the Derwent Estuary, Tasmania. Bigbelly seahorses live in a range of habitats from intertidal rockpools, low rocky reefs in shallow estuaries, to deep tidal channels and deeper coastal reefs to 100m. They cling to seagrasses, sponges, macroalgae such as kelp holdfasts, rocky outcrops and man-made structure. Individuals have also been found clinging to floating seagrass rafts. |
Features |
Dorsal fin 25-33; Anal fin 4; Pectoral fin 14-16; trunk rings 12-13; tail rings 44-48; subdorsal rings 3-5 + 1-2; Rings supporting dorsal fin 4 trunk and one tail ring Body slender, elongate, tail prehensile. Trunk of moderate depth to deep, distended ventrally in adult females. Head small, at right angles to body, snout moderately long, dorsal-fin base moderately long. Body spines becoming progressively smaller with growth. Pelagic young have angular spines of moderate length along trunk and anterior tail ridges, remaining as rugose tubercles in large adults. Tubercles enlarged above eyes, on trunk mainly below the dorsal fin, and along shoulder ring at gill-opening with one of moderate size ventrally. The coronet is very low and somewhat triangular, with a rugose ridges and 2 blunt spines posteriorly in some adult specimens. The lateral line is visible as small indistinct pores with low papillae, usually only detectable intermittently, reaching posteriorly to about 30th tail ring. Adults usually have long dermal filaments on various head spines. |
Size |
This species is the largest known seahorse, reaching 35 cm TL (total length), and 23 cm in height. |
Colour |
The colour is variable, ranging from overall whitish, grey, yellow, orange, purplish to brown, usually with paler sides and a variable number of black spots on the head and trunk. Individuals living in shallow bays are usually brownish with many dark spots, whilst those in deep waters tend to be plain with brighter colours similar to the sponges on which they live. The tail may have indistinct banding. |
Feeding |
Feed by sucking small invertebrates in through their tubular snouts - especially carid and mysid shrimps, and amphipods. |
Biology |
Bigbelly seahorses breed year-round, with a peak during the warmer months. As with other seahorses, this species exhibits elaborate courtship behaviour. A female may attract a number of males which compete for the chance to brood her eggs. They brighten their pouches, and pump them repeatedly by inflating and emptying them to entice her to deposit her eggs inside. Although males and females do not form monogamous pairs and promiscuous courtship behaviour has been observed, genetic studies examining male broods in several Tasmanian populations showed that the males were carrying a single brood. Males, however, may switch mates between broods. Spawning occurs from October to January and females use an ovipositor to transfer the eggs into an elaborate enclosed pouch under the abdomen of the male. The male fertilizes the eggs inside his pouch and provides physical protection for the developing embryos. He also osmoregulates and aerates the embryos and may provide some nourishment until his offspring are born. Larvae are born after a gestation period of about 4 weeks. Males brood between 300 to about 700 eggs per brood. During summer, males incubate up to 4 broods. One male seahorse in the aquaculture industry reportedly produced a brood of 1116 young. The larvae are morphologically similar to adults and are born after a gestation period of about one month. Newly born larvae are slender, 15-21 mm in length, with a relatively straight body at birth, bending to adult form within 1-2 days. They have angular spines of moderate length along the trunk and anterior tail ridges, and the spines diminish in size in post-pelagic young. Larvae rise to surface immediately after emerging from the pouch and cling to to each other and floating debris with their prehensile tail. Juveniles settle to the bottom at around 20-30 mm. Bigbelly seahorses are easily kept in aquaria if fed regularly on live diet of small shrimp and other crustaceans, especially mysids. |
Fisheries |
Occasionally taken as bycatch in commercial trawls. Captive-bred specimens are reared commercially in a number of Australian States and live individuals are collected as broodstock for aquaculture operations. Both wild caught and aquarium-reared individuals are sold within Australia and exported overseas for the live aquarium trade. Dried specimens are sold in Asia in the Traditional Medicine industry. |
Conservation |
CITES: Listed under Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). EPBC Act 1999: Marine Listed under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act 1999). |
Remarks |
Contention exists as to whether the east coast populations of H. abdominalis differ from those found in southern waters. Although Kuiter (2004) referred to the southern populations as Hippocampus bleekeri, genetic studies found little evidence to support this hypothesis (Armstrong 2001). |
Similar Species |
The Bigbelly Seahorse has a deeper trunk, more tail rings and more dorsal-fin rays that other seahorse species. |
Etymology |
Hippocampus is from the Greek, ippos = horse and kampe = curvature. The specific name abdominalis refers to the enlarged and prominent abdomen. |
Species Citation |
Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson 1827, Bull. Sci. nat Férussac 12: 127, New Zealand. |
Author |
Bray, D.J. & Thompson, V.J. 2018 |
Resources |
Bigbelly Seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis Lesson 1827
References
Armstrong, P. 2001. Genetic and Morphological Variation in Pot-bellied Seahorses (Hippocampus abdominalis): Is there evidence for two species? Unpublished B.Sc. (Hons.) thesis, University of Tasmania.
Bahr, A., Sommer, S., Mattie, B. & Wilson, A.B. 2012. Mutual mate choice in the potbellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis). Behavioral Ecology 23(4): 869-878.
Dawson, C.E. 1994. Family Syngnathidae. pp. 440-475 figs 391-426 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs.
Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life. Reed, Kew, Victoria, Australia, 544 pp.
Flynn, A.J. & Ritz, D.A. 1999. Effect of Habitat complexity and predatory style on the capture success of fish feding on aggregated prey. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 79: 487-494.
Foster, S.J. & A.C.J. Vincent. 2004. Life history and ecology of seahorses: implications for conservation and management. J. Fish Biol. 65: 1-61.
Fowler, H.W. 1908. A collection of fishes from Victoria, Australia. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 59(3): 419-444 figs 1-10
Gomon, M.F. & Neira, F.J. 1998. Syngnathidae. In: Neira F.J., A.G. Miskiewicz & T. Trnski. Larvae of temperate Australian fishes: laboratory guide for larval fish identification. University of Western Australia press, Nedlands, Western Australia, 474 pp.
Grant, E.M. 2002. Guide to Fishes. Redcliffe : EM Grant Pty Ltd 880 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 1993. Coastal Fishes of South-Eastern Australia. Crawford House, Bathurst, NSW, 437 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, pipefishes and their relatives. Chorleywood, UK: TMC Publishing, 240 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 2001. Revision of the Australian Seahorse of the genus Hippocampus (Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae) with descriptions of nine new species. Rec. Aust. Mus. 53: 293-340.
Kuiter, R.H. 2008. Syngnathidae. pp. 448-479 in Gomon, M.F., Bray, D.J. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). Fishes of Australia's Southern Coast. Sydney : Reed New Holland 928 pp.
Kuiter, R.H. 2009. Seahorses and their relatives. Seaford, Australia : Aquatic Photographics pp. 331.
Last, P.R., E.O.G. Scott & F.H. Talbot. 1983. Fishes of Tasmania. Tas. Fisheries Devel. Authority, Hobart, 563 pp.
Lesson, R.P. 1827. Espèce nouvelle d'Hippocampe. Bull. Sci. Nat. Geol. (Férussac) 11: 127-128.
Lourie, S.A. 2016. Seahorses. A life-size guide to every species. Chicago : The Unversity of Chicago Press 160 pp.
Lourie, S.A., Foster, S.J., Cooper, E.W.T. & Vincent, A.C.J. 2004. A Guide to the Identification of Seahorses. Project Seahorse and TRAFFIC North America. Washington, D.C. Vancouver : University of British Columbia and World Wildlife Fund 114 pp.
Lourie, S.A., Pollom, R.A. & Foster, S.J. 2016. A global revision of the Seahorses Hippocampus Rafinesque 1810 (Actinopterygii: Syngnathiformes): Taxonomy and biogeography with recommendations for further research. Zootaxa 4146(1): 1–66
Lourie, S.A., Vincent, A.C.J. & Hall, H.J. 1999. Seahorses. An identification guide to the world's species and their conservation. Project Seahorse. x 214 pp.
Marshall, D. 2004. The interactions of the big-bellied seahorse with artificial structure. Unpublished B.Sc. (Hons) thesis, University of Tasmania, Australia
Martin-Smith, K.M. & Vincent, A.C.J. 2005. Seahorse declines in the Derwent estuary, Tasmania in the absence of fishing pressure. Biological Conservation 123: 533–545.
Martin-Smith, K.M. & Vincent, A.C.J. 2006. Exploitation and trade of Australian seahorses, pipehorses, sea dragons and pipefishes (Family Syngnathidae). Oryx 40(2): 141-151.
Martinez-Cardenas, L. & Purser, G.J. 2011. Effect of temperature on growth and survival in cultured early juvenile pot-bellied seahorses, Hippocampus abdominalis. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 42(6): 854-862.
Mattle, B. & Wilson, A.B. 2009. Body size preferences in the pot-bellied seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis: choosy males and indiscriminiate females. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 63: 1403-1410.
McCulloch, A.R. 1911. Report on the fishes obtained by the F.I.S. Endeavour on the coasts of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Part 1. Zoological (Biological) Results. Endeavour 1(1): 1-87 figs 1-20 pls 1-16
Neira, F.J., Miskiewicz, A.G. & Trnski, T. 1998. Larvae of temperate Australian fishes: laboratory guide for larval fish identification. Nedlands, Western Australia : University of Western Australia press 474 pp.
Nickel, J. & Cursons, R. 2012. Genetic diversity and population structure of the pot-belly seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 46(2): 207-218.
Parish, S. 1974. Australia's Ocean of Life. Newport, Victoria : Wedneil Publications 128 pp.
Pognoski, J.J., Pollard, D.A. & Paxton, J.R. 2002. Conservation Overview and Action Plan for Australian Threatened and Potentially Threatened Marine and Estuarine Fishes. Canberra : Environment Australia 375 pp.
Pollom, R. 2017. Hippocampus abdominalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T10057A54903879. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T10057A54903879.en. Downloaded on 01 May 2018.
Poortenaar, C.W., Woods, C.M.C., James, P.J., Giambartolomei, F.M. & Lokman, P.M. 2004. Reproductive biology of female big-bellied seahorses. Journal of Fish Biology 64: 717-725
Stewart, A.L. 2015. Families Syngnathidae, Aulostomidae, Fistulariidae, Macroramphosidae. pp. 1050-1072 in Roberts, C.D., Stewart, A.L. & Struthers, C.D. The Fishes of New Zealand. Wellington : Te Papa Press Vol. 3 pp. 577-1152.
Whittington C, Musolf K, Sommer S, Wilson A. (2013). Behavioural cues of reproductive status in seahorses Hippocampus abdominalis. Journal of Fish Biology 83: 220-226.
Wilson, A.B. & Martin-Smith, K.M. 2007. Genetic monogamy despite social promiscuity in the pot-bellied seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis). Molecular Ecology 16(11): 2345-2352
Woods, C.M.C. 2000. Preliminary observations on breeding and rearing the seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) in captivity. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 34: 475-485
Woods, C.M.C. 2002. Natural diet of the seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 36: 655-660
Woods, C.M.C. 2005. Reproductive output of male seahorses, Hippocampus abdominalis, from Wellington Harbour, New Zealand: implications for conservation. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 39(4): 811-888
Woods, C.M.C. & Martin-Smith, K.M. 2004. Visible Implant fluorescent Elastomer tagging of the big-bellied seahorse, Hippocampus abdominalis. Fisheries Research 66(3): 363-371