Hippocampus angustus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	SYNGNATHIFORMES	SYNGNATHIDAE

Scientific Name:

Hippocampus angustus

Species Authority:

Günther, 1870

Common Name/s:

English

–

Narrow-bellied Seahorse

Synonym/s:

Hippocampus erinaceus Günther, 1870

Taxonomic Notes:

The 1996 and 2000 Red Lists included H. erinaceus. This is now considered a synonym of H. angustus.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Data Deficient ver 3.1

Year Published:

2002

Assessor/s:

Project Seahorse

Reviewer/s:

Lafrance, P., Lourie, S., Marsden, D. & Vincent, A.C.J. (Syngnathid Red List Authority)

Justification:
The species assessed as H. angustus in 1996 is now recognized as H. subelongatus. In assessing the species now identified as H. angustus we found that appropriate data on biology and ecology, habitat, abundance and distribution are not available for this species. Further research is needed.

History:

1996	–	Vulnerable (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
1996	–	Vulnerable

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Very little is known about the species that is now recognised as H. angustus.
Countries:	Native: Australia (Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia)
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Indian Ocean – eastern; Pacific – western central
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	Unknown.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The species has been trawled from depths of 3-63 m (Lourie et al. 1999) and has also been collected from algal reef habitat from 12-25 m depth (Kuiter 2000). This species may be particularly susceptible to decline. All seahorse species have vital parental care, and many species studied to date have high site fidelity (Perante et al. 2002, Vincent et al. in review), highly structured social behaviour (Vincent and Sadler 1995), and relatively sparse distributions (Lourie et al. 1999). The importance of life history parameters in determining response to exploitation has been demonstrated for a number of species (Jennings et al. 1998).
Systems:	Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

The species has been trawled from depths of 3-63 m (Lourie et al. 1999) and has also been collected from algal reef habitat from 12-25 m depth (Kuiter 2000). This species may be particularly susceptible to decline. All seahorse species have vital parental care, and many species studied to date have high site fidelity (Perante et al. 2002, Vincent et al. in review), highly structured social behaviour (Vincent and Sadler 1995), and relatively sparse distributions (Lourie et al. 1999). The importance of life history parameters in determining response to exploitation has been demonstrated for a number of species (Jennings et al. 1998).

Systems:

Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species is known to be caught as by-catch in trawls in northern Australia (S. Lourie, pers. comm.).

Major Threat(s):

This species is known to be caught as by-catch in trawls in northern Australia (S. Lourie, pers. comm.).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	H. angustus was moved under the Australian Wildlife Protection Act in 1998. Further research on this species is needed. It is listed on CITES Appendix II.

Conservation Actions:

H. angustus was moved under the Australian Wildlife Protection Act in 1998. Further research on this species is needed. It is listed on CITES Appendix II.

Citation:	Project Seahorse 2002. Hippocampus angustus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2012.
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