Hippocampus jayakari Boulenger, 1900
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Jayakar's seahorse (Hippocampus jayakari) is a species of coastal fish of the family Syngnathidae. It is found in the Western Indian Ocean, from the Red and Arabian seas to the central coast of Pakistan. It lives in seagrass beds (such as Halophila spp.), algae, soft-bottom substrates, sponges, and rocky habitats, where it can grow to lengths of 14 centimetres (5.5 in). It can inhabit depths to 20 metres (66 ft), though it is more commonly found at 2–3 metres (6.6–9.8 ft). It is expected to feed on small crustaceans, similar to other seahorses. This species is ovoviviparous, with males carrying eggs in a brood pouch before giving birth to live young. Individuals reach sexual maturity at 11 centimetres (4.3 in). The specific name and the common name honours the Indian physician, linguist and ichthyologist Dr. Surgeon-Major Atmaram Sadashiv "Muscati" Jayakar (1844–1911).
Wikipedia contributors, Jayakar's seahorse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:48:34.184207+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Hippocampus jayakari Boulenger, 1900
- Name authority
- Boulenger, 1900
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSyngnathiformes
- familySyngnathidae Bonaparte, 1831
- subfamilySyngnathinae Bonaparte, 1831
- genusHippocampus Rafinesque, 1810
- speciesHippocampus jayakari Boulenger, 1900
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Hippocampus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Hippocampus algiricus Kaup, 1856 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hippocampus angustus Günther, 1870 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hippocampus barbouri Jordan & Richardson, 1908 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hippocampus bargibanti Whitley, 1970 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| giraffe seahorseHippocampus camelopardalis Bianconi, 1854 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hippocampus capensis Boulenger, 1900 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hippocampus casscsio Zhang, Qin, Wang & Lin, 2016 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hippocampus debelius Gomon & Kuiter, 2009 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| lined seahorseHippocampus erectus Perry, 1810 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hippocampus fisheri Jordan & Evermann, 1903 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| seahorseHippocampus hippocampus (Linnaeus, 1758) | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pacific seahorseHippocampus ingens Girard, 1858 | SyngnathidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- Boulenger, G. A. (1900). Description of a new sea-horse (Hippocampus) from Muscat. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 7), v. 6 (no. 31): 51–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930008678338 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:3LZMC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.