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

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