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Hippocampus kuda 庫達海馬

Scientific Name:    Hippocampus kuda         
Nomenclater:    Bleeker, 1852
Family:    F295  Syngnathidae
Holotype-Locality:    Singapore
Habitats:    Coral、Benthos、Estuary、Coastal、Lagoon      
Economic Fish:     Yes
Habitats Depth:    0 - 68 M      
Aquarium Fish:     Yes
Poisonous Fish:    No      
Edible Fish:     No
Synonyms:    Hippocamphus kuda, Hippocampus aterrimus, Hippocampus chinensis, Hippocampus hilonis, Hippocampus horai, Hippocampus kuda multiannularis, Hippocampus melanospilos, Hippocampus moluccensis, Hippocampus novaehebudorum, Hippocampus polytaenia, Hippocampus raji, Hippocampus rhynchomacer, Hippocampus taeniops, Hippocampus taeniopterus, Hippocampus tristis  
Reference:    Shen, S. C. , S. C. Lee, K. T. Shao, H. C. Mao, C. H. Chen, C. C. Chen, C. S. Tzeng. 1993. Fishes of Taiwan. Dept. Zool., Nat. Taiwan Univ., Taipei. xx + 960 pp., pls. 310. (in Chinese) Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2004. FishBase. World Wide Web ele  沈世傑 編 Shih-Chieh Shen ed. 1993 Carpenter, K. E. etc. 1999 Nakabo T. 2002 Nakabo T. 2002 
Redlist Status:    IUCN Redlist: Vulnerable(VU)  
Common Name in Engulish:    Oceanic sea horse; Sea horse; Oceanic sea horse red; Yellow seahorse; Spotted seahorse; Yellow sea horse
Chinese Name transliteration:    ku da hai ma, guan hai ma, hai ma
Distribution in Taiwan:    West、South、North、North East、PonFu、ShaoLiuChew  
Distribution in World:    India Ocean to Pacific Ocean
Max Lenth:     30 cm
Specimen List:     ASIZP0055360. ASIZP0058215. ASIZP0058540. FRIP00545. FRIP00546. NMMBP01075. NMMBP02272. NMMBP03312. NMMSTP00293. NMMSTP01554. NMNSF00406. NMNSF00439. NMNSF00976. USNM00076604.         
Characteristic:    Rings: 11+36 (34-38). Snout length: 2.3 (2.0-2.6) in head length. Dorsal fin rays: 17-18 covering 2+1 rings. Pectoral fin rays: 16 (15-18). Coronet: low-medium, rounded, overhanging at the back, often with a cup-like depression in the top; sometimes with broad flanges; not spiny. Spines: low, rounded bumps only. Other distinctive characters: deep head; deep body; thick snout. Color pattern: often totally black with a grainy texture; alternatively pale yellow or cream with fairly large, dark spots (especially females); may be sandy colored, blending in with the surroundings.  
Habitats:    Inhabits seagrass and marine algae areas of estuaries and seaward reefs; also on steep mud slopes. Found in open water and attached to drifting Sargassum up to 20 km from shore. Adults in pairs.
Distribution:    Distributed in the Indo-Pacific from Pakistan and India to southern Japan, Hawaii, and the Society Islands. It is mainly found in northern and southern Taiwanese waters.
Utility:    Very popular aquarium fish. Highly valued species in traditional Chinese medicine. Has been reared in captivity. International trade is monitored through a licensing system (CITES II, since 5.15.04).
 

 

Text and images are provided by The Fish Datebase of Taiwan (Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan)