West Australian seahorse
Amazing fact
West Australian seahorses develop their eggs in a pouch on the male’s tail.
Museums Victoria
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
West Australian seahorses develop their eggs in a pouch on the male’s tail.
THE REAL WORLD
The real West Australian seahorse
- Scientific name
- Hippocampus subelongatus
- Japanese name
- ウエスタンオーストラリアンシーホース
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Order
- Syngnathiformes
- Family
- Syngnathidae
- Genus
- Hippocampus
Where the name “West Australian seahorse” comes from
Its scientific genus name comes from the Greek words for horse and curvature. Its scientific species name refers to its moderately long spines.
Museums VictoriaIt lives in a small area along the coast of southwestern Australia and nowhere else.
It can also cope with brackish water, where seawater and river water mix, and is seen even in the Swan River in Western Australia.
How the West Australian seahorse lives
During the day, it sucks up small crustaceans and animal plankton drifting past. Males and females form pairs during the breeding season. Before spawning, it performs an elaborate courtship ritual. It appears seasonally in the lower Swan River and moves to deeper water in winter.
Museums VictoriaBasic data
- Range
- Coast of southwestern Australia
Where the West Australian seahorse has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 简体中文
- 西澳海马
- 繁體中文
- 西澳海馬
- Español
- Caballito de Mar Atigrado
- Português (Brasil)
- Cavalo-marinho-australiano
- Italiano
- Cavalluccio tigre
- العربية
- فرس البحر الغرب أسترالي
- Tiếng Việt
- Tiger snout seahorse
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — ウエスタンオーストラリアンシーホースChecked: 2026-11-04
- Museums Victoria — West Australian Seahorse, Hippocampus subelongatusChecked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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