Skip to content

Highcrown Seahorse Hippocampus procerus Kuiter, 2001
[CAAB 37 282122]

Distribution Map see an interactive map here (new window)

The recently-described Highcrown Seahorse, found only in Queensland, has a very distinct spiny crown.

Distribution, ecology and habitat:

Endemic to tropical waters of north-eastern Australia, from Hervey Bay north to at least Port Curtis and possibly into the Gulf of Carpentaria, Queensland; benthic on inshore mixed algal reef from about 3 to 20 m.

Size:

Height to more than 110 mm.

Food and feeding:

Carnivores. Like most other seahorses, this species presumably feeds by sucking small prey items such as crustaceans and planktonic zooplankton 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 17-19 (rarely 17); P 16-18 (rarely 16, usually 18); trunk rings 11; tail rings 34-35; subdorsal rings 2 + 1.
Head and body: Head long, snout long, almost half head length.
Spines and tubercles: Subdorsal spines 3/0-1,1,0-1; spines of moderate size at nose, above eyes, and laterally on head and spines present on back of neck (neck spines low in large males); spine above eyes equal to pupil diameter; lateral head spine moderate, directed laterally; small spine perpendicular to nape; moderate spine behind eye; 2 separate low spines below eye; shoulder-ring spines of moderate length, uppermost near top of pectoral fin base, central spine near bottom of pectoral fin base, lowermost spine double, directed ventrally, the more anterior of the two small and poorly developed.
Coronet: Coronet very tall and strongly angled posteriorly, with 5 moderately large sharp spines at the apex and additional spines on the anterior face near base of coronet.
Lateral line: Lateral line with pores detectable to about 19^th tail ring.

Colour:

In life - trunk pale yellowish-white ventrally, dusky brown with black scribbles and numerous tiny white spots dorsally above lateral trunk ridge, continuing over tail; snout dusky with irregular thin white barring; brownish-black shading ventrally on eye and snout; dorsal fin with a dusky longitudinal line through middle of fin. In preservative - overall brown with fine dark scribbles or pale saddle-like markings.

Similar species:

H. procerus has been previously confused with H. tristis and. H. procerus is more similar to H. whitei, differing in having a taller and more spiny coronet, higher fin-ray counts, and a generally more spiny body. The two speceis are not sympatric. The known distribution of H. procerus overlaps with that of H. tristis in southern Queensland.

Fisheries:

None. Although collected in trawls and dredges, 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/.
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:

Although the species is thought to occur in the Gulf of Carpentaria, this distribution is based on a single record from the Norman River and may be erroneus.

Other common names:

High-crown Seahorse

Original citation:

Hippocampus procerus Kuiter 2001, Rec. Aust. Mus. 53: 328, fig. 40, Fairway Buoy, Hervey Bay, Queensland, Australia.

Etymology:

From the Greek ippos = horse and kampe = curvature. The specific name procerus is  Latin for tall, slender or long, in reference to the tall coronet.

References:

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, 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.

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.