Japanese seahorse

Open encyclopedia reference

The Japanese seahorse (in Japanese, kitano-umi-uma and sangotatsu) or lemur-tail seahorse (Hippocampus mohnikei) is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. The Japanese seahorse reaches a maximum length of 8.0 cm, is usually dark brown and has a relatively long tail, a ridgelike coronet and flattened spines. Many seahorse species look similar, so in addition to any distinguishing features, individual specimens are identified using a series of specific measurements and counts of anatomical features such as spines and tail rings.

H. mohnikei has a planktonic stage in the first six months of life, after which they settle, preferably in Zostera sea grass beds or estuaries, and begin to breed. They are ovoviviparous and the males carry the eggs in a brood pouch. While several seahorse species are used in traditional Chinese medicine, H. mohnikei is not one of them.

Wikipedia contributors, Japanese seahorse; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:39:55.570126+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Hippocampus mohnikei Bleeker, 1853

Name authority

Bleeker, 1853

Common name

Japanese 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 mohnikei Bleeker, 1853

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. Bleeker, P. (1853). Bijdrage tot de kennis der ichthyologische fauna van Japan. Verhandelingen Der Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen (Amsterdam), v. 1 (art. 1): 1–16. 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:3LZN6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.