''Hippocampus pontohi'', also known as Pontoh's pygmy seahorse or the weedy pygmy seahorse, is a
seahorse
A seahorse (also written ''sea-horse'' and ''sea horse'') is any of 46 species of small marine fish in the genus ''Hippocampus''. "Hippocampus" comes from the Ancient Greek (), itself from () meaning "horse" and () meaning "sea monster" or " ...
of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Syngnathidae
The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and ''Phyllopteryx''). The name is derived from grc, σύν (), meaning "together", and (), meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the tra ...
native to the central
Indo-pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
. Named after Hence Pontoh, the Indonesian dive guide from Bunaken (Manado) who first brought these pygmy seahorses to attention.
Description
The weedy pygmy seahorse is a small fish which can reach a maximum length of approximately 1.7 cm, which makes it one of the smallest representatives of the seahorses.
The body is small and slender with a prehensile tail. The head is relatively large, it represents about 25% of the size of the body.
The eyes are prominent. It has a moderately long snout and this later does not have any bulbous tip. The coronet rises rearwardly creating a kind of angle when the animal's profile is observed.
The trunk and tail may also have some small bulbs. The coronet and the widest part of the back can have some red distinctive branching filaments.
The body background color is whitish with a yellow to pinkish color on the head and backside of its body.
Thin red lines may also extend from the starting point of the cutaneous filaments from its back. The tail has also some red bands.
Distribution and habitat
The Pontoh's pygmy seahorse has been recorded from central
Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
area in eastern
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
This pygmy seahorse likes reef wall exposed to current and rich in
Halimeda plants or
hydroids
Hydroids are a life stage for most animals of the class Hydrozoa, small predators related to jellyfish.
Some hydroids such as the freshwater '' Hydra'' are solitary, with the polyp attached directly to the substrate. When these produce buds ...
''
Aglaophenia cupressina
''Aglaophenia'' is a genus of hydrozoans in the family Aglaopheniidae.
Species
The following species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A spe ...
'' between 11 and 25 meters depth.
Biology
The weedy pygmy seahorse has a carnivorous diet and feeds on small
crustaceans
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
and other planktonic organisms.
The species is
ovoviviparous
Ovoviviparity, ovovivipary, ovivipary, or aplacental viviparity is a term used as a "bridging" form of reproduction between egg-laying oviparous and live-bearing viviparous reproduction. Ovoviviparous animals possess embryos that develop insi ...
, and it is the male who broods the eggs in its ventral brood pouch. The latter includes villi rich in capillaries that surround each fertilized egg creating a sort of
placenta
The placenta is a temporary embryonic and later fetal organ that begins developing from the blastocyst shortly after implantation. It plays critical roles in facilitating nutrient, gas and waste exchange between the physically separate mater ...
supplying the embryos. When fully grown, pups are expelled from the pocket and become autonomous.
Conservation status
This species population may be vulnerable to the loss of meadows of ''Halimeda''due to the acidification of oceans, however, it can use other habitats and is listed as
Least Concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
by the
IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
.
[
Internationally, it is also listed in Appendix II of the (CITES) this means that it is on the list of species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
]
Naming
The specific name honours Hence Pontoh, an Indonesian dive guide who brought these small seahorses to the attention of its describers.
References
External links
*
pontohi
Taxa named by Rudie Hermann Kuiter
Fish described in 2008
{{Syngnathiformes-stub