Hippocampus kuda

Hippocampus kuda
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Syngnathiformes
Family:	Syngnathidae
Genus:	Hippocampus
Species:	H. kuda
Binomial name
Hippocampus kuda Bleeker, 1852
Synonyms
Hippocampus fuscus Rüppell, 1838 Hippocampus moluccensis Bleeker, 1852 Hippocampus taeniopterus Bleeker, 1852 Hippocampus polytaenia Bleeker, 1854 Hippocampus melanospilos Bleeker, 1854 Hippocampus chinensis Basilewsky, 1855 Hippocampus rhynchomacer Duméril, 1870 Hippocampus borboniensis Duméril, 1870 Hippocampus tristis Castelnau, 1872 Hippocampus aterrimus Jordan & Snyder, 1902 Hippocampus hilonis Jordan & Evermann, 1903 Hippocampus taeniops Fowler, 1904 Hippocampus natalensis {von Bonde, 1923 Hippocampus horai Duncker, 1926 Hippocampus novaehebudorum Fowler, 1944 Hippocampus raji Whitley, 1955

location of H. Kuda

Hippocampus Kuda, also known as the common seahorse, estuary seahorse, yellow seahorse or spotted seahorse. The common name sea pony has been used for this species under its synonym Hippocampus fuscus.

General Description

general body template of H. Kuda

Physical Description: The yellow seahorse is a small fish that can reach a length of 17-30 cm. The body is quite large, elongated, and has no spines, all bumps are rounded. The head is relatively large compared to the body. The snout is short and thick. The coronet is small and rises towards the rear, it can also sometimes have more or less long filaments. Some adults have a black line running through the dorsal fin in the direction of its width. The body coloration is often dark with a grainy texture but can also be yellow, cream, or reddish blotches and numerous small dark spots.

Morphology: The seahorse possesses a tail that is used as a bending and grasping appendage. The seahorse is able to bend its tail ventrally due to its possession of body plates. The hypoxia muscle is responsible for bending the seahorse's tail. The plates send forces to the hypoxia muscles to ensure bending of the tail. These functions of the musculoskeletal system allow us to understand the anatomy of seahorses in further depth.

Distribution and Habitat

The Hippocampus Kuda inhabits waters from the Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan, and several Pacific islands including Hawaii, and is also found the eastern coast of Africa from Tanzania to South Africa, including the Indo-Pacific region ranging from the northwest Indian Ocean to the central areas of the Pacific Ocean. The majority of H. Kuda populates the Chinese coast down to Australia. Though, because of their fascinating physical structure, their captive distribution has become increasingly high in aquariums.

H. Kuda inhabit estuaries, lagoons, harbors, littoral zones, and coastal seagrass beds, where they are found in shallow waters with a maximum depth containing observed at no more than fifty-five meters, Their habitat regions can include (but are not limited to) tropical, saltwater, or marine regions.

Biological Development and Reproduction

Reproduction of the H. Kuda is done primarily by the males. Eggs are fertilized by the male and are implanted in their pouches through an ovoviviparous process and it is the male who broods the eggs in its ventral brood pouch. There may be up to one-thousand eggs in a singular pouch, where the developmental process can last from twenty to twenty-eight days. Birth, however, depends largely on the monsoon patterns, lunar cycles, and water temperature. Males typically go into labor during a full moon, and after birth, the baby seahorses average a length of seven millimeters.

The mating system of the H. Kuda is completely monogamous. The species engages in a unique courtship ritual before engaging in mating. The male will change its color patterns and dance around the female and while producing a clicking with the coronet. Eventually, the tails of the male and female intertwine and the female will place her eggs into the male's brooding pouch via the ovipositor.

Predation

H. Kuda can only eat living, moving prey, such as larval fishes and zooplankton. They suck their prey through their snouts since they are subpar swimmers. Although minuscule, H. Kuda cannot avoid predation due to their inability to camouflage. Most predators of the H. Kuda include crabs, rays, tuna, and sea turtles. Even humans are considered a large predator of the H. Kuda largely because of their economic benefits. H. Kuda is at the bottom of its ecosystem with its population feeding crustaceans and larger fish. H. Kuda are considered omnivores of their food web.

Importance to Humans

H. Kuda are extremely valuable to the traditional Chinese medicine trade. H. Kuda can regulate nervous, reproductive, endocrine, and immune systems. There has been research done on their ability to suppress tumors and slow aging. 25 million seahorses are used every year for medicinal purposes. The largest known exporters of H. Kuda are Vietnam, India, the Philippines, and Thailand.

In the Aquarium

Common seahorses have very small mouths, eating only small animals like brine shrimp and even newborn guppies. Seahorses need to eat a lot approximately 4–5 times a day. Many aquarists who have kept H. Kuda cultivate their own brine shrimp and rotifers. Daphnia is eaten when other foods are unavailable.

Seahorses spend most of their time anchoring to coral reefs and branches with their tails because they are poor swimmers. They therefore need similar anchor points in the aquarium. Seahorses like a quiet tank, without large, belligerent fish, and a slow-moving current. Aquarists have found them to be generally accepting of tankmates like Synchiropus splendidus and other bottom-dwelling fishes.

Temperature, pH, and Salinity

yellow seahorse in a mangrove forest

Common seahorses generally do best at a temperature of 72–77 °F (22–25 °C), optimally 73–75 °F (23–24 °C). They do not tolerate even spikes above 80 °F (27 °C) well. Their optimal pH range is around 8.1–8.4. The common seahorse can tolerate a range of salinity from 18 parts per thousand (ppt) to 36 ppt but salinity below about 25ppt should be promptly corrected. About 32 ppt is ideal.

Conservation Status

The species is still commonly encountered (especially in Indonesia and New Guinea) but is currently classified as vulnerable by the IUCN, as populations face some threat from bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery, targeted catch for the aquarium and traditional medicine trade, and habitat destruction, coupled with low fecundity due to the involved method of parental brood care. Internationally, it is also listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) this means that it is on the list of species not necessarily threatened with extinction, but in which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival. Populations of the H. Kuda have declined by 30% in the last few decades due to pollution, habitat destruction, and illegal trading in Chinese medicine. It is possible that without immediate intervention, the H. Kuda population will decline rapidly.

External links

• Photos of Hippocampus kuda on Sealife Collection
• Hippocampus kuda (Common seahorse)