Scientific Name	Hippocampus histrix   Pronounce			by: Lab of Fish Ecol. and Evo., BRCAS
Author	Kaup, 1856	Depth	0 - 82M
Chinese	刺海馬	Poisonous Fish	No
Family_Chinese	海龍科	Economic Fish	Yes
Family	F295　Syngnathidae	Edible Fish	No	Chinese In Mainland China	刺海馬
Max Length	17 cm	Aquarium Fish	Yes	Common Name	海馬
Distribution in World	India Ocean to Pacific Ocean	Distribution in Taiwan	South
Habitats	Coral、Coastal	Holotype Locality	Japan
Synonyms	Hippocamphus hystrix, Hippocampus guttulatus, Hippocampus hystrix, Hippocampus ramulosus
Reference	臺灣魚類誌(沈等, 1993)；Fishes of Japan(Nakabo, 2002)；Fishbase(2005)；The Live Marine Resources of the Western Central Pacific, Vol.4(FAO,1999)
Specimen List	ASIZP0055667. ASIZP0073316. ASIZP0805791. ASIZP0915791. NMMSTP00981. NTMP1160. NTUM04214.
Barcode	2015-10-23,Chia-Hao Chang,CO1,%
Common Name	Seahorse; Thorny seahorse; Spiny Seahorse; Longspine seahorse
Redlist Status	IUCN Redlist: Data deficient(DD)  2002-01-01   CITES Appendix 2
Characteristic	Rings: 11 + 35 (34-37). Snout length: 1.7-2.0 in head length. Dorsal fin rays: 17 (15-18) covering 2+1 rings. Pectoral fin rays: 18 (17-20). Coronet: medium, with four or five very long, very sharp spines. Spines: extremely long and sharp; all spines well-developed. Other distinctive characters: very long snout (more than 1/2 head length); single cheek spine; dorsal fin base very short; always has at least as many pectoral as dorsal fin rays (whereas most species have more dorsal fin rays); sharp ventral keel; prominent spine in front of coronet. Color pattern: base color variable, including pale pink, yellow or green; spines often dark tipped; may have pale "saddles", often filled with small dark spots, across dorsolateral surfaces; snout not striped.
habitats	A rare inhabitant of shallow sheltered reefs, found among clumps of algae or in seagrass beds. Large adults are pelagic and probably associated with drifting debris. Associated with sponges and sea-squirts.
Distribution	Distributed in the Indo-Pacific from Tanzania and South Africa to Hawaii and Tahiti, north to Japan, south to New Caledonia. Reported from the Arafura Sea. It is found in southern Taiwanese waters.
Utility	Use in traditional Chinese medicine is increasing with the rise in patent medicines. Not common in the aquarium trade. International trade is monitored through a licensing system (CITES II, since 5.15.04).