Hippocampus bargibanti
Bargibants seahorse
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Warty protuberances on head and body. Colour dependent on host gorgonian colour, mostly pink or yellow. Solitary or in loose groups, on Muricella gorgonians, usually deeper than 20 m. Only attains about 3cm. Similar H. denise is leaner with less lumpy body markings, and has apparently been recorded in Australia.
Information
Max Size: 5 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 26-30.6°C
Depth: 16-40m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Data Deficient
Occurrence: Infrequent (1.7% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields