Description
Body compressed, contorted and encased in bony rings, with a large abdomen, a long tubular snout, a prehensile tail and often long filaments on the head; dorsal fin with 23-31 rays. Varies in colour from almost white to a mottled yellow, reddish or even brown, with irregular darker spots and blotches, and a broadly-banded tail. Maximum total length 35 cm.
The Bigbelly Seahorse, also known as the Potbelly Seahorse, is the most common seahorse in southern Australia, with individuals matching the colour of the sponges, macroalgae and seagrasses to which they cling. Males brood the eggs in their large belly.
Author credit: Dianne J. Bray, Dr Martin F. Gomon / Museum Victoria
Habitat
Shallow rocky reefs, seagrass beds, sponge gardens in bays and sheltered coastal waters.
Food
Invertebrates
Range
South-eastern Australia.
Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Classification
| Class: | Actinopterygii | | Order: | Syngnathiformes | | Family: | Syngnathidae | | Genus: | Hippocampus | | Species: | abdominalis | | Common Name: | Bigbelly Seahorse |
Relatives in same Genus
Pygmy Seahorse (H. bargibanti)
White's Seahorse (H. whitei)
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