Hedgehog seahorse

The hedgehog seahorse (Hippocampus spinosissimus) is a species of fish in the Syngnathidae family. It is found in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is coral reefs. It is threatened by habitat loss. More

The hedgehog seahorse is quite variable in colouration (2) (7), often plain or pale with darker markings across the back and dark cross-bands on the tail (2). More

Costing VND100,000 a pair in Vietnam, the hedgehog seahorse is raised as an ornamental fish in the US and Europe and used for medicinal purposes in China, Japan and Taiwan. More

The institute chose the multicolored hedgehog seahorse because it is a popular ornamental fish here and abroad, and because far fewer are being caught at sea, presumably because the population is dwindling. More

Thousands of hedgehog seahorses (Hippocampus spinosissimus) have been born and well over a thousand have survived and are thriving, says the institute’s Ho Thi Hoa. More

Common names

Cá Ng?a in Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)
Cá Ngựa in Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)
Hedgehog seahorse in English
Hippocampus spinosissimus in Catalan (Català)
spiny seahorse in English
spiny seahorse in Unknown
棘海馬 in Mandarin Chinese
棘海马 in Mandarin Chinese

Order : Syngnathiformes
Family : Syngnathidae
Genus : Hippocampus
Species : Hippocampus histrix
Authority : Weber, 1913