Reef Fish
Seahorses
Hippocampus · Bony fish — genus Hippocampus, family Syngnathidae (seahorses and pipefishes); genus-level overview of roughly 50 species
Seahorses ask divers to recalibrate. Upright posture, prehensile tail, independently swiveling eyes, and a brood pouch in which the male carries and births the young — nothing else on the reef works quite this way. Roughly fifty species make up the genus, from thumbnail pygmies to the big-belly seahorse of southern Australia, most of them ambush feeders sucking tiny crustaceans through tubular snouts. They are weak swimmers and strong holders: find one gripping a sponge, sea whip, or net fragment and it will likely be within meters of that spot next month. That site fidelity, plus a huge dried-animal trade, is why the entire genus has sat on CITES Appendix II since 2004. Move slowly, keep lights short, and let the animal keep its grip — a dislodged seahorse spends real energy getting home.
どこで・いつ見られるか
「常駐（Resident）」とは、そのダイビングスポットでのほとんどのダイブで遭遇できることを意味します。「季節限定（Seasonal）」とは、記載された月に確実に見られることを意味します。それ以外の出会いはボーナスであり、計画の前提にはなりません。
| 目的地 | 信頼性 | 月 | メモ |
|---|---|---|---|
| BonaireBonaire | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| Bali & Nusa PenidaIndonesia | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| AnilaoPhilippines | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| Lembeh StraitIndonesia | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| Dumaguete, Dauin & Apo IslandPhilippines | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて | |
| South AustraliaAustralia | Resident — seen on most dives | 年間を通じて |
ベストな月、一目でわかる
理解を深める
ハビタット: Seagrass beds, sponge and soft-coral gardens, mangrove edges, jetty piles, and rubble; anything grippable in gentle water.
分布域: Temperate and tropical coasts worldwide, from Caribbean seagrass to Indo-Pacific muck and the cool bays of southern Australia.
生態・行動: Weak swimmers and strong holders — a prehensile tail anchors each animal to a home patch it may keep for months; the male incubates eggs in a brood pouch and gives birth to live young.
食性: Copepods, mysids, and other small crustaceans sucked through the tubular snout in enormous daily numbers.
サイズ: 目安は 0.1 m; 確認済みの最大記録 0.35 m (height; the genus spans 1.5 cm pygmies to the 35 cm big-belly seahorse).
出会ったときの正しいふるまい方
Approach slowly on the animal's level, keep lights brief and angled, and never detach a seahorse from its holdfast; many sites cap photo time per group.
保全
All Hippocampus species are on CITES Appendix II; several are threatened and many are Data Deficient, with dried-trade and bycatch pressure far exceeding aquarium collection.
目撃情報で知られるダイブサイト
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