Biodiversity & Conservation

Long snouted seahorse - Hippocampus guttulatus

Hippocampus guttulatus

Image Steve Trewhella - View of head and 'mane' of Hippocampus guttulatus. Image width ca 3 cm.
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Distribution map

Hippocampus guttulatus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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  • Berne
  • CITES
  • UK_BAP
  • OSPAR
Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Actinopterygii Ray-finned fish, e.g. sturgeon, eels, fin fish, gobies, blennies, and seahorses
Authority Cuvier, 1829
Recent synonyms Hippocampus ramulosus
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland Recorded from the south and south west coasts of Britain and Ireland, and on the western coasts of Orkney and Shetland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Present in shallow waters, especially amongst algae and seagrasses, clinging by the tail or swimming upright.
Text page icon Description Hippocampus guttulatus can be up to 15 cm in length and has a long snout. The fleshy protuberances on the back of the neck, from the head to dorsal fin, give an appearance of a 'mane'. It can be coloured from greenish-yellow through to reddish-brown and often mimics the colour of associated vegetation. It is speckled with bluish-white spots and flecks and its body rings carry bony tubercles giving it an angular, knobbly appearance.
Identifying features
  • Body up to 15 cm in length.
  • Long snout, more than one third the length of the head.
  • Fleshy strands, mane from head to dorsal fin.
  • Pectoral fin has 15-18 rays.
  • Dorsal fin has 18-21 rays.
  • Anal fin minute and not at deepest part of belly but more towards tail.
  • Bony tubercles on body.
Additional information icon Additional information Other common names include the 'spiny seahorse' or the 'many branched seahorse'. The long snouted seahorse is one of two species of seahorses found in the British Isles; the other is Hippocampus hippocampus, which can be distinguished by a shorter snout and the lack of elongated protuberances along the back of the neck. Their distribution around the British Isles has been recently revised by the British Seahorse Survey (Garrick-Maidment & Jones, 2004).

This review can be cited as follows:

Anna Neish 2007. Hippocampus guttulatus. Long snouted seahorse. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 20/06/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3505>