Hippocampus haema

Hippocampus haema, the Korean seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae native to the northern Pacific Ocean (Korea Strait and Sea of Japan), and it usually lives in Sargassum and weeds on shallow soft bottom habitats from 0 to 18 m depth.[1][2] The Korean seahorse is the most common seahorse in Korean waters so that the scientific name 'haema' is named from 'seahorse' in Korean. The Japanese name 'Himetatsu' is derived from its smaller shape such as body and coronet rather than the shape of a sister species, crowned seahorse (Hippocampus coronatus).[1][3][4] This species had been repeatedly misidentified as crowned seahorse and Shiho's seahorse before a taxonomic review. However, the two genuine species do not live in Korean waters, therefore this species was handled by naming a new scientific name, Hippocampus haema.[1] It can grow to lengths of 11 centimeters, but more commonly 6 to 8 centimeters as adult. Namely, the length of juvenile is 1 to 5 centimeters, whereas and the lengths of males and females reaching sexual maturity are considered as ca. 5 centimeters with or without male brood pouch.[1][5][6][7] However, sex determination of this species is considered as ca. 2 centimeters from anatomic examination of gonad.[7] This species has sexual dimorphism, the difference is male has a longer tail, while female has a longer trunk for same size. Breeding season of this species is from May to November (7 months), relating to warm water temperature.[5]

Hippocampus haema
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species:
H. haema
Binomial name
Hippocampus haema
Han, Kim, Kai & Senou, 2017



  • Male (left) and female (right) Hippocampus haema
  • Mating behaviour of Hippocampus haema
  • Juvenile Hippocampus haema

References
  1. Han, Sang-Yun; Kim, Jin-Koo; Kai, Yoshiaki; Senou, Hiroshi (2017-10-30). "Seahorses of the Hippocampus coronatus complex: taxonomic revision, and description of Hippocampus haema, a new species from Korea and Japan (Teleostei, Syngnathidae)". ZooKeys (712): 113–139. doi:10.3897/zookeys.712.14955. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 5704180. PMID 29187790.
  2. Kim, Tae-Il; Han, Won-Min; Lee, Geun Eui; Lee, Ki-Won (2016). "Taxonomical Reexamination and Distribution of Sea horses in the Southern Sea of South Korea". Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education. 28 (4): 1159–1170. doi:10.13000/JFMSE.2016.28.4.1159. ISSN 1229-8999.
  3. Anderson, Natali (27 November 2017). "Marine Biologists Discover New Species of Seahorse: Hippocampus haema". Sci-News. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  4. "Seahorses of the Hippocampus coronatus complex (Teleostei, Syngnathidae): Taxonomic Revision, and Description of Hippocampus haema, A New Species from Korea and Japan". Novataxa. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  5. Lee, Sang Heon; Kang, Min Gu; Oh, Younggeun; Kwak, Seok Nam; Park, Joo Myun; Lee, Won Chan; Kim, Hyung Chul; Kim, Myung Joon (May 2018). "Ecological Characteristics of the New Recorded Seahorse (Hippocampus haema) in Geoje-Hansan Bay, Korea". Journal of Coastal Research. 85 (sp1): 351–355. doi:10.2112/SI85-071.1. ISSN 0749-0208. S2CID 134809873.
  6. Choi, Young-Ung; Rho, Sum; Park, Heung-Sik; Kang, Do-Hyung (July 2012). "Population characteristics of two seahorses, Hippocampus coronatus and Hippocampus mohnikei, around seagrass beds in the southern coastal waters of Korea". Ichthyological Research. 59 (3): 235–241. doi:10.1007/s10228-012-0285-z. ISSN 1341-8998. S2CID 15540330.
  7. Park, Joo Myun; Kwak, Seok Nam (2015-02-07). "Length–weight relationships and reproductive characteristics of the crowned seahorse (Hippocampus coronatus) in eelgrass beds (Zostera marina) of Dongdae Bay, Korea". Marine Biology Research. 11 (2): 209–213. doi:10.1080/17451000.2014.902536. ISSN 1745-1000. S2CID 85368081.
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