lined seahorse

Open encyclopedia reference

The lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus), northern seahorse or spotted seahorse, is a species of fish that belongs to the family Syngnathidae. H. erectus is a diurnal species with an approximate length of 15 cm (5.9 inches) and lifespan of one to four years. The H. erectus species can be found in myriad colors, from greys and blacks to reds, greens, and oranges. The lined seahorse lives in the western Atlantic Ocean as far north as Cape Cod and as far south as the Caribbean, Mexico, and Venezuela. It swims in an erect position and uses its dorsal and pectoral fins for guidance while swimming. Lined seahorses feed mainly on minute crustaceans and brine shrimp, which they suck in through their snout. They are able to suck their prey by creating a current of water leading directly into its snout. Since seahorses are weak swimmers, they must ambush their prey by blending into their surroundings, which they do rather easily. The lined seahorse's eyes can move independently of one another, allowing it to effectively scan its surroundings.

Wikipedia contributors, Lined seahorse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:12:44.347743+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hippocampus erectus Perry, 1810

Name authority

Perry, 1810

Common name

lined seahorse

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 erectus Perry, 1810

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.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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. Perry, G. (1810). Ichthyology. In: Arcana; or the Museum of Natural History: Containing the Most Recent Discovered Objects... London., 384 pp., 84 pls. v. 1: unnum. pp., unnum. pls. [Ichthyology on unnumbered pp. 83–84, 1 pl.]. 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:3LZLD. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.