Réunion seahorse

Réunion seahorse ( Hippocampus borboniensis )

The Réunion seahorse ( Hippocampus borboniensis ) is a species from the genus of seahorses.

Features

The Seepferdchenart reaches a maximum length of 14 cm. The coloration varies from a green -brown with yellow dots with marbled broken lines in the header area and uniformly dark. In general, the specimens from deeper water are very colorful, pure white to reddish brown or exhibit a clearly visible stripe pattern and do not have thread- like appendages, while living in shallow water animals are plain colored and partly overgrown with algae that the drawing in addition hide. The dorsal fin is supported 16-18 fin rays.

Occurrence and life

Hippocampus borboniensis occurs off the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius and Reunion as well as off the East African coast of South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania. It mainly lives there in 5 to 60 m water depth on soft soils of sponges and seagrass beds. Reports of occurrence in the Maldives or from the western Pacific based on confusion with Hippocampus kuda.