Scientific Name
Hippocampus kuda
Other Common Name(s)
Common Seahorse, Estuary Seahorse, Spotted Seahorse
Body Length
7-11 cm
Habitat
Diet
Fun Facts
Yellow seahorses are poor swimmers. They lack caudal fins and only use their dorsal fins for propulsion. Using their prehensile tails, they usually cling to seagrass and other substrates. They can change colour patterns to camouflage themselves.
Yellow seahorses are monogamous and will find a new partner only when they lose the old one. During courtship and to enhance their relationship, they change colours, twine their tails together and dance. When they mate, the females deposit their eggs into the brooding pouch of the males.
Distribution
Threats & Conservation
Threats & Conservation
Overexploitation of Biological Resources
Yellow seahorses are valuable in traditional Chinese medicine. Although their benefits on health have not been tested, they are still captured and traded. In 2001, around 25 million seahorses were consumed as medicine around the world. They are also caught as bycatch. Habitat destruction and pollution has caused a decline in the population of yellow seahorses. They were common a few decades ago in Hong Kong, but have now become rare.
IUCN Red List
Vulnerable
CITES
Appendix II
Conservation
Chinese Wildlife Conservation Law: Category 2
Protected under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586) in Hong Kong.
