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Smooth Seahorse Hippocampus kampylotrachelos Bleeker, 1854
[CAAB 37 282113]

Distribution Map see an interactive map here (new window)

The only Australian record of the Smooth Seahorse is a dried specimen found amongst nesting seabirds at Ashmore Reef off north Western Australia.

Distribution, ecology and habitat:

Tropical West Pacific from Sumatra, Bali and Ashmore Reef; benthic on muddy substrates in very sheltered estuaries, or in deep coastal waters.

Size:

Height to at least 220 mm

Food and feeding:

Like other seahorses, this species presumably feeds by sucking small crustaceans and other planktonic organisms into its mouth.

Reproduction and early life history:

Reproduction: Sexes separate, reproduction a form of viviparity or ovoviviparity, whereby the males give birth to tiny independent young. The female uses an ovipositor to transfer her eggs into an elaborate enclosed pouch under the abdomen of the male. The male not only fertilizes the eggs inside the pouch and provides physical protection for the developing embryos, he also osmoregulates and aerates the embryos and may provide some nourishment until the offfspring are born.
Eggs: Not described.
Larvae: Not described.

Characteristics:

Meristics: D 19; A 4; P 16; trunk rings 11; tail rings 39; subdorsal rings 2 + 1.
Head and body: Dorsal profile of head evenly concave to tip of snout; snout about half head length.
Spines and tubercles: Head angled at more than 45°, nasal profile without spine, gradually curving onto snout with no obvious inflection; upward directed nape-spine; subdorsal 3/0,1,0, lower spine enlarged and obvious; body tubercles small to moderate along dorsal and lateral ridges, but enlarged and pointed at regular intervals, especially at dorsal-fin base and along superior tail ridges, gradually becoming smaller on tail.
Coronet: Low, directed backwards, with 5 blunt diverging spines in a star at apex.
Lateral line: Not detected.

Colour:

Overall dusky brownish grey to almost black, covered with fine white and black spots and scribbles, especially on head where these form a pattern radiating from eyes and lines along lower part of operculum; dorsal fin with two longitudinal lines, one marginally and one centrally.

Similar species:

None

Fisheries:

None. There is no known trade in this species in the aquarium or Asian Traditional Medicine industries.

Conservation Status:

International: Listed under Appendix II of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). As a result, the species is subject to the Convention, http://www.cites.org/.
Listed (as a synonym of H. trimaculatus) as Data Deficient on the 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/10087/summ
Australian legislation: Marine Listed under the Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act 1999). http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/species/marine.html

Remarks:

H. kampylotrachelos is known from very few specimens and is regarded as a synonym of H. trimaculatus by some authors.

Other common names:

None

Original citation:

Hippocampus kampylotrachelos Bleeker 1854, Nat. Tijdschr. Ned. Ind. 7: 107, Priaman, Sumatra, Indonesia.

Etymology:

From the Greek ippos = horse and kampe = curvature. The specific name kampylotrachelos is from the Greek kampe meaning caterpillar and trachelos meaning neck.

References:

Bleeker, P. 1854. Overzigt der ichthyologische fauna van Sumatra, met beschrijving van eenige nieuwe soorten. Natuurkd. Tijdschr. Neder. Indië 7: 49-108.

Hoese, D.F., D.J. Bray, J.R. Paxton & G.R. Allen. 2006. Fishes. In Beesley, P.L. & A. Wells. (eds.) Zoological catalogue of Australia. Volume 35. ABRS & CSIRO Publishing: Australia Part 1, 2178 pp.

Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and their Relatives. TMC Publishing, Chorleywood, UK, 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.

Lourie, S.A., A.C.J. Vincent & H.J. Hall. 1999. Seahorses: an identification guide to the world's species and their conservation. Project Seahorse. London, UK. 214 pp.

Pogonoski, J.J., D.A. Pollard & J.R. Paxton. 2002. Conservation Overview and Action Plan for Australian Threatened and Potentially Threatened Marine and Estuarine Fishes, Canberra, Environment Australia, 375 pp.