Currently Recognized Hippocampus Species and Common Names

There are currently around thirty-five recognized seahorse species. Seahorses are part of the family syngnathidae (pronounced sing-nath-i-dee), which means "fused jaw". All seahorses belong to the genus Hippocampus. Below are the scientific name and most commonly accepted common names. Because common names can be quite confusing and vary quite a bit, it is best to always use the scientific name of a species.

Scientific Name	Common Name

H. abdominalis	Pot Bellied Seahorse
H. algiricus	West African Seahorse
H. angustus	Narrow Bellied Seahorse
H. barbouri	Barbour's Seahorse
H. bargibanti	Pygmy Seahorse
H. borboniensis	Réunion Seahorse
H. breviceps	Short Snouted Seahorse
H. camelopardalis	Giraffe Seahorse
H. capensis	Knysna Seahorse
H. comes	Tiger Tail Seahorse
H. coronatus	Crowned Seahorse
H. erectus	Lined Seahorse
H. fisheri	Fisher's Seahorse
H. fuscus	Sea Pony
H. guttulatus	Speckled Seahorse
H. hippocampus	European Seahorse
H. histrix	Thorny Seahorse
H. ingens	Pacific Seahorse
H. jayakari	Jayakar's Seahorse
H. kelloggi	Great Seahorse
H. kuda	Spotted Seahorse
H. lichtensteinii	Lichtenstein's Seahorse
H. minotaur	Bullneck Seahorse
H. mohnikei	Japanese Seahorse
H. procerus	Hippocampus procerus
H. reidi	Brazillian Seahorse
H. sindonis	Shiho's seahorse
H. spinosissimus	Hedgehog Seahorse
H. subelongatus	West Australian Seahorse
H. trimaculatus	Three-Spot Seahorse
H. tuberculatus	Knobby Seahorse
H. whitei	White's Seahorse
H. zebra	Zebra Seahorse
H. zosterae	Dwarf Seahorse

Note: Seahorse genetics is just beginning to be fully understood, and as a result, seahorse taxonomy is constantly changing. Seahorse.org does its best to stay on top of these changes, but if you see anything in error, please let marc know.
References: Hall Heather J., Lourie Sara A., & Vincent Amanda C.J. 1999. Seahorses: An Identification Guide to the World's Species and Their Conservation. Project Seahorse. Kuiter Rudie H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and Their Relatives. TMC Publishing.

Most recent revision: January 18, 2004

Seahorse fact: The sea horse is the only animal in the entire animal kingdom in which the male has a true pregnancy.

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Currently Recognized Hippocampus Species and Common Names

Scientific Name

Common Name

References: