Seahorses
A Life-Size Guide to Every Species
9780226338415
9780226338552
Seahorses
A Life-Size Guide to Every Species
Absolutely captivating creatures, seahorses seem like a product of myth and imagination rather than of nature. They are small, elusive, and are named for their heads, which are shaped like miniature ponies with tiny snouts. They swim slowly upright by rapidly fanning their delicate dorsal fin, coil their tails to anchor themselves in a drift, and spend days in a dancing courtship. Afterward, it is the male who carries the female’s eggs in his pouch and hatches the young. Seahorses are found worldwide, and they are highly sensitive to environmental destruction and disturbance, making them the flagship species for shallow-water habitat conservation. They are as ecologically important as they are beautiful.
Seahorses celebrates the remarkable variety of seahorse species as well as their exquisiteness. 57 species, including seadragons and pipefish, are presented in lush, life-size photographs alongside descriptive drawings, and each entry includes detailed and up-to-date information on natural history and conservation. Sara Lourie, a foremost expert on seahorse taxonomy, presents captivating stories of species that range from less than an inch to over a foot in height, while highlighting recent discoveries and ecological concerns. Accessibly written, but comprehensive in scope, this book will be a stunning and invaluable reference on seahorse evolution, biology, habitat, and behavior.
Masters of camouflage and rarely seen, seahorses continue to be a fascinating subject of active research. This visually rich and informative book is certain to become the authoritative guide to these charming and unusual wonders of the sea, beloved at aquariums the world over.
Seahorses celebrates the remarkable variety of seahorse species as well as their exquisiteness. 57 species, including seadragons and pipefish, are presented in lush, life-size photographs alongside descriptive drawings, and each entry includes detailed and up-to-date information on natural history and conservation. Sara Lourie, a foremost expert on seahorse taxonomy, presents captivating stories of species that range from less than an inch to over a foot in height, while highlighting recent discoveries and ecological concerns. Accessibly written, but comprehensive in scope, this book will be a stunning and invaluable reference on seahorse evolution, biology, habitat, and behavior.
Masters of camouflage and rarely seen, seahorses continue to be a fascinating subject of active research. This visually rich and informative book is certain to become the authoritative guide to these charming and unusual wonders of the sea, beloved at aquariums the world over.
160 pages | 100 color plates | 6 x 7 3/4 | © 2016
Biological Sciences: Conservation, Ecology, Natural History
Reviews
Table of Contents
INTRODUCING SEAHORSES
WHAT ARE SEAHORSES?
Horses of the Sea
The family Syngnathidae
Myths and Legends
MORPHOLOGY
Adaptations of head
Bony plates
Prehensile tail
Fins
Pouch
Internal organs
Camouflage
LIFE HISTORY & BEHAVIOUR
Life-span
Holdfasts
Home ranges
Feeding
Predators
COURTSHIP & REPRODUCTION
Pair bonds & Greetings
Courtship & Mating
Eggs, Pregnancy & Birth
Seahorse Offspring
DISTRIBUTION
Habitats
Map of distribution
Dispersal
Molecular evidence
EVOLUTION
Fossil evidence
Genetics and phylogeny
Major clades within Hippocampus
Morphological changes
TRADE
Traditional Medicine
Aquaria
Curios
Sources
CONSERVATION
Seahorses as flagships
Population declines
Destructive fishing
Livelihoods and conservation
Aquaculture
IUCN Red List
CITES and national legislation
Project Seahorse
iSeahorse
How you can help
THE SPECIES
SEAHORSES
Introduction to the Species
Pygmy seahorses
H. bargibanti
H. colemani
H. denise
H. pontohi
H. satomiae
H. waleananus
Temperate Australasian species
H. abdominalis
H. breviceps
Spiny, striped-snout clade
H. angustus
H. barbouri
H. comes
H. histrix
H. jayakari
H. procerus
H. subelongatus
H. whitei
Three-spot seahorses
H. camelopardalis
H. planifrons
H. trimaculatus
Japanese miniatures
H. coronatus
H. mohnikei
H. sindonis
Semi-spiny H. kuda relatives
H. kelloggi
H. spinosissimus
Hippocampus kuda clade
H. algiricus
H. borboniensis
H. capensis
H. fisheri
H. fuscus
H. ingens
H. kuda
H. reidi
Basal kuda-oid species
H. guttulatus
Hippocampus erectus clade
H. erectus
H. hippocampus
H. patagonicus
Species of uncertain placement
H. debelius
H. jugumus
H. minotaur
H. montebelloensis
H. paradoxus
H. pusillus
H. tyro
H. zebra
H. zosterae
A SELECTION OF SEAHORSE RELATIVES
GASTROPHORI: TRUNK-BROODING PIPEFISH
Nerophis ophidion
Doryrhamphus excisus [or D. dactyliophorus]
UROPHORI: TAIL-BROODING PIPEFISH
Halicampus macrorhynchus
Trachyrhamphus longirostris
Syngnathus acus
Corythoichthys intestinalis
SEADRAGONS & PIPEHORSES
Haliichthys taeniophorus
Phycodurus eques
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Solegnathus spinosissimus
Syngnathoides biaculeatus
PYGMY PIPEHORSES
Acentronura tentaculata
Idiotropiscus lumnitzeri
Kymenoichthys rumengani
REFERENCES & FURTHER READING
Table of meristic counts
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WHAT ARE SEAHORSES?
Horses of the Sea
The family Syngnathidae
Myths and Legends
MORPHOLOGY
Adaptations of head
Bony plates
Prehensile tail
Fins
Pouch
Internal organs
Camouflage
LIFE HISTORY & BEHAVIOUR
Life-span
Holdfasts
Home ranges
Feeding
Predators
COURTSHIP & REPRODUCTION
Pair bonds & Greetings
Courtship & Mating
Eggs, Pregnancy & Birth
Seahorse Offspring
DISTRIBUTION
Habitats
Map of distribution
Dispersal
Molecular evidence
EVOLUTION
Fossil evidence
Genetics and phylogeny
Major clades within Hippocampus
Morphological changes
TRADE
Traditional Medicine
Aquaria
Curios
Sources
CONSERVATION
Seahorses as flagships
Population declines
Destructive fishing
Livelihoods and conservation
Aquaculture
IUCN Red List
CITES and national legislation
Project Seahorse
iSeahorse
How you can help
THE SPECIES
SEAHORSES
Introduction to the Species
Pygmy seahorses
H. bargibanti
H. colemani
H. denise
H. pontohi
H. satomiae
H. waleananus
Temperate Australasian species
H. abdominalis
H. breviceps
Spiny, striped-snout clade
H. angustus
H. barbouri
H. comes
H. histrix
H. jayakari
H. procerus
H. subelongatus
H. whitei
Three-spot seahorses
H. camelopardalis
H. planifrons
H. trimaculatus
Japanese miniatures
H. coronatus
H. mohnikei
H. sindonis
Semi-spiny H. kuda relatives
H. kelloggi
H. spinosissimus
Hippocampus kuda clade
H. algiricus
H. borboniensis
H. capensis
H. fisheri
H. fuscus
H. ingens
H. kuda
H. reidi
Basal kuda-oid species
H. guttulatus
Hippocampus erectus clade
H. erectus
H. hippocampus
H. patagonicus
Species of uncertain placement
H. debelius
H. jugumus
H. minotaur
H. montebelloensis
H. paradoxus
H. pusillus
H. tyro
H. zebra
H. zosterae
A SELECTION OF SEAHORSE RELATIVES
GASTROPHORI: TRUNK-BROODING PIPEFISH
Nerophis ophidion
Doryrhamphus excisus [or D. dactyliophorus]
UROPHORI: TAIL-BROODING PIPEFISH
Halicampus macrorhynchus
Trachyrhamphus longirostris
Syngnathus acus
Corythoichthys intestinalis
SEADRAGONS & PIPEHORSES
Haliichthys taeniophorus
Phycodurus eques
Phyllopteryx taeniolatus
Solegnathus spinosissimus
Syngnathoides biaculeatus
PYGMY PIPEHORSES
Acentronura tentaculata
Idiotropiscus lumnitzeri
Kymenoichthys rumengani
REFERENCES & FURTHER READING
Table of meristic counts
INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS