Skip to main content

Bargibant's Seahorse

Hippocampus bargibanti
I got a request to talk about Pygmy Seahorses, but there are actually several species that fall under that common name, so today we'll talk about one in particular. All Pygmy Seahorses are relatively new to Science, and most were actually described for the first time only in the last ten years or so. The Bargibant's Seahorse is the species that we've known about the longest, and it was first discovered back in 1969.

Bargibant's Seahorse can be found in the coastal waters of Southeast Asia and Australia. They are very tiny, and seldom grow over 1in long. That, combined with their camouflaging bumps and colors, makes them very hard to spot on Corals that they live among (it's even difficult to tell exactly what you're looking at in that picture!). Bargibant's Seahorse is only known to live on Coral from the Muricella genus. They are so well hidden that the very first ones observed were not even spotted until after the Coral was collected and placed in an Aquarium!

Adults tend to live in small groups, and 28 of them were once observed on a single Gorgonian Coral. They feed on small little Crustaceans that also hang out near the Coral. Like most Seahorses, it is actually the male that incubates the eggs, stashing them away in a brood pouch. As many as 30 offspring can be born at once, and the young Seahorses are completely independent at birth.
IUCN Status : Data Deficient
Location : Southeast Asia, Australia
Size : Length up to 1in
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Syngnathiformes
Family : Syngnathidae -- Genus : Hippocampus -- Species : H. bargibanti
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Burmese Peacock

Polyplectron bicalcaratum Burmese Peacocks are also referred to as Grey Peacock-Pheasants, which is probably a more apt name, as they are not actually Peacocks... though they do belong to the same family. At any rate, they share some physical resemblances to Peacocks- most notably the eyes on their tail feathers. Burmese Peacocks are the national birds of Myanmar, which was called Burma until 1989, though some still refer to it as such. The birds live in several other Southeast Asian countries as well, and are divided into four subspecies. The species as a whole is listed as being of Least Concern , because they have a large range and population size. It unfortunately appears that they may be declining in number, but it is a slow descent that does not yet meet the vulnerability thresholds. The birds are listed under CITES Appendix II, because they can be kept in captivity and grabbing individuals from the wild could become problematic for the species. IUCN Stat...
3 comments
Read more

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more