Hippocampus whitei
Whites Seahorse | Common Seahorse | New Holland Seahorse | Sydney Seahorse | White's Seahorse
Similar Species
Distribution
Temperate Australasia
Description
Has 15-17 rays in the dorsal fin and a long snout. The colour is variable, with browns and yellows dominant, and the body is usually flecked with fine white spots that are much smaller and more numerous than the spots on the shorthead seahorse. The species is common in estuarine Posidonia beds and is particularly abundant in Sydney Harbour, but in southern waters only vagrants associated with drifting algae have been found.
Information
Max Size: 13 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 15.2-24.6°C
Depth: 0-20m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Data Deficient
Occurrence: Frequent (11.9% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (4 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney