Hippocampus nalu

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Hippocampus nalu
Hippocampus nalu.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species:
H. nalu
Binomial name
Hippocampus nalu
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Hippocampus nalu, the Sodwana pygmy seahorse,[1][2] African pygmy seahorse[1] or Honeypot seahorse,[1] is a South African species of pygmy seahorse in the family Syngnathidae.[3]

Discovery[]

The discovery of the species, which inhabits the waters of Sodwana Bay in South Africa, was revealed by an international team of researchers in May 2020.[4] This small pygmy seahorse is the first known pygmy seahorse that lives in the water around Africa. When a diver from the region gave a tip to the researchers, a team of the researchers later discovered this pygmy seahorse.[4] The team that made this discovery arrived in South Africa to look for the pygmy pipehorse and unintentionally found this new species.[5]

Description[]

Hippocampus nalu is quite similar to H. pontohi and H. japapigu in appearance and colouration, with adults having a honey-brown colored skin with an overlay of white irregular reticulation and a reddish tail, and juveniles having a darker coloration. Like most syngnathids, their coloration helps them to camouflage with their surrounding habitat, as well as with algae. Being a pygmy seahorse, H. nalu is very small, with juveniles being ~10 mm long and adults growing up to a length of 2 centimetres. [1][6]

Habitat[]

This species is currently only known to occur in shallow coastal waters, at depths between 12 and 17 meters that contain flat sandstone-based coral reefs and short algal turfs.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Short, Graham; Claassens, Louw; Smith, Richard; De Brauwer, Maarten; Hamilton, Healy; Stat, Michael; Harasti, David (2020). "Hippocampus nalu, a new species of pygmy seahorse from South Africa, and the first record of a pygmy seahorse from the Indian Ocean (Teleostei, Syngnathidae)". ZooKeys (934): 141–156. doi:10.3897/zookeys.934.50924. ISSN 1313-2970. PMC 7253503. PMID 32508498.
  2. ^ Short, Graham; Claassens, Louw; Smith, Richard (2020-05-19). "Press Release: New Pygmy Seahorse Species South Africa" (PDF) (Press release). oceanrealmimages.com: Dr Richard Smith. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  3. ^ Main, Douglas (2020-05-20). "New pygmy seahorse discovered, first of its kind in Africa". National Geographic. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  4. ^ a b University of Leeds (2020-05-20). "Meet Africa's first pygmy seahorse species". Phys.org. Retrieved 2020-05-22.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  5. ^ "pygmy seahorse". critter research.
  6. ^ McGreevey, Nora (May 29, 2020). "Newly Discovered Pygmy Seahorse Species Is the Size of a Fingernail". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved June 22, 2020.

[Category:Taxa named by Richard Smith]]


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