Hippocampus colemani Kuiter, 2003

Open encyclopedia reference

Hippocampus colemani (Coleman's pygmy seahorse) is a species of fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found off of the coast of Lord Howe Island, Australia, although unconfirmed occurrences have been reported from Milne Bay and the Ryukyu Islands. It lives in coarse sand and Zostera and Halophila sea grasses at depths around 4–12 m (13–39 ft). It is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other seahorses. Ovoviviparous reproduction is also expected, with males brooding eggs in a pouch before giving birth to live young.

Named after Neville Coleman, an Australian photographer, explorer, and conservationist who collected the holotype.

Wikipedia contributors, Hippocampus colemani; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:48:34.183207+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hippocampus colemani Kuiter, 2003

Name authority

Kuiter, 2003

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Syngnathiformes

Family

Syngnathidae

Genus

Hippocampus

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderSyngnathiformes
11. familySyngnathidae Bonaparte, 1831
12. subfamilySyngnathinae Bonaparte, 1831
13. genusHippocampus Rafinesque, 1810
14. speciesHippocampus colemani Kuiter, 2003

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Hippocampus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 259 records assigned to Syngnathidae.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. Kuiter, R. H. (2003). A new pygmy seahorse (Pisces: Syngnathidae: Hippocampus) from Lord Howe Island. Records of the Australian Museum, 55: 113–116. https://doi.org/10.3853/j.0067-1975.55.2003.1382 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3LZL2. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.