The seamoths make up a family of fishes, the Pegasidae, within the order

Syngnathiformes The Syngnathiformes are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the trumpetfishes and seahorses.FishBase (2005)Order Summary for Syngnathiformes Version of 2005-FEB-15. Retrieved 19 Aug 2008. These fishes have elongated, narrow, bodies sur ...

. They are named for

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

, a creature from Greek mythology. Seamoths are notable for their unusual appearance, including flattened bodies, the presence of large, wing-like,

pectoral fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...

s, a long

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...

, and a body encased in thick, bony plates. They are found primarily in

coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

waters of the

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 ...

Biology

Seamoths have modified

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s that allow them to "walk" across the sea bottom where they live. Their jaws are ventral, located behind their long rostrum, and are toothless. Their mouth is highly specialized, and can form a tube-like mouth used to suck worms and other small invertebrates from their

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...

s. They periodically

molt In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...

their skin, perhaps as often as every five days.Herold D, and Clark E. 1993. Monogamy, spawning, and skin-shedding of the seamoth, ''Eurypegasus draconis'' (Pisces: Pegasidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 37:219-236.

Conservation

''Pegasus laternarius'' is listed as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN, while the remaining four species of seamoth remain

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

. Threats to seamoths come from various sources, including fisheries where they are caught as bycatch or on purpose for use in traditional Chinese medicines. They are also collected for sale in the aquarium trade. Bottom trawls and coastal development may detrimentally alter habitat used by benthic seamoths. Life history characteristics such as low population sizes and monogamy with long-term pair bonding put them at risk of exploitation.

References

Ray-finned fish families Marine fish families Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte {{Gasterosteiformes-stub