Short-snouted seahorse
| Short-snouted seahorse | |
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| Species: | H. hippocampus
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| Binomial name | |
| Hippocampus hippocampus | |
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The short-snouted seahorse (Hippocampus hippocampus) is a species of seahorse in the family Syngnathidae. It is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the North Atlantic, particularly around Italy and the Canary Islands. Colonies of the species have recently been discovered in the River Thames around London and Southend-on-Sea.[3]
Their preferred habitat is shallow muddy waters, estuaries or seagrass beds.[3]
Protection
In the United Kingdom they are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.[4] In 2010, the London Zoo, which operates short-snouted seahorse breeding programme, saw the birth of 918 baby seahorses.[5]
References
- ^ Template:IUCN2014.3
- ^ "Taxon: Hippocampus hippocampus (C. Linnaeus, 1758) - short-snouted seahorse". The Taxonomicon. Retrieved February 9, 2010.
- ^ a b "Rare seahorses breeding in Thames". BBC News. 2007-04-07.
- ^ "Project Seahorse". Zoological Society of London. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- ^ "Seahorse breeding programme". Zoological Society of London. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
External links
Media related to Hippocampus hippocampus at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Hippocampus hippocampus at Wikispecies
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