Jeffords, Jeffrey

seahorse6

Hippocampus abdominalis

The pot-bellied seahorse, also known as the big-belly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis), is one of the largest of all seahorse species, growing up to 32 cm (12.6 inches). Both males and females appear bloated in the abdomen compared to other seahorses. The male (on right side of photo) has a very prominent, light-colored abdomen, typically looking as swollen as males of other species in the latter stages of pregnancy. Their skin texture appears very smooth in comparison to most other species. Other examples of sexual dimorphism include heavier markings on the male, a shorter, thicker snout, and a proportionally longer tail than the female.

About this image

Identification
Hippocampus abdominalis (large seahorse)
Location

aquarium specimen, not recorded

Contributors
Jeffrey N. Jeffords
photographer copyright holder identification
Subjects
Subject Live Animal
Type Photo
Anatomy coloration/patterning disruptive coloration (spots/stripes)
Anatomy female
Anatomy male
Life Stages and Gender adult/sexually mature
Behaviors reproduction mate tending
Anatomy coloration/patterning cryptic

Conditions of use

Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License .

To cite this page: Jeffords, J. 2004. "seahorse6.jpg" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed {%B %d, %Y} at https://animaldiversity.org/collections/contributors/jeffrey_jeffords/fish/seahorse6/

Last updated: 2004-35-14 / Generated: 2025-10-03 01:35

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