Hippocampus bargibanti

Pygmy seahorse

H. bargibanti is found inhabiting reefs in the tropical Atlantic waters of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Queensland and New Caledonia. H. bargibanti lives on gorgonian corals of the genus Muricella. Two different color variations of the species are known. The first is a pale grey or purple color with pink or red tubercles that lives on Muricella plectana. The other color variation is a yellow color with orange tubercles that lives on Muricella paraplectana. As many as 28 pairs can be found living on a single gorgonian coral.

H. bargibanti is a very small seahorse, growing to a maximum length of 2 cm. They are found at a depth between 16 to 40 meters. Because they camouflage themselves to match the coral they inhabit, spotting them in the wild is very difficult. In fact, H. bargibanti was not discovered until a Muricella specimen was being examined in the lab and the scientist noticed a seahorse on the coral!

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OTHER SEAHORSES TO SEE:

Hippocampus breviceps

Hippocampus coronatus

Hippocampus histrix

Hippocampus kuda

Hippocampus reidi

Hippocampus whitei

Hippocampus zosterae

BACK TO GENERAL SEAHORSE INFO

LINKS TO SEAHORSE SITES:

Fish To The Nth helping hobbyists and breeders with questions and problems

Project Seahorse researching the sea horse

Vincent Labs breeding, conservation and management of seahorses

Seahorse Park information about sea horses

The Aquatic Bookstore