Hippocampus algiricus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	SYNGNATHIFORMES	SYNGNATHIDAE

Scientific Name:

Hippocampus algiricus

Species Authority:

Kaup, 1856

Common Name/s:

English

–

West African Seahorse

Taxonomic Notes:

Genetic research suggests that this species is part of the H. kuda complex and is very closely related to both H. kuda and H. reidi. Further research is needed.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Data Deficient ver 3.1
Year Assessed:	2002
Assessor/s	Project Seahorse
Evaluator/s:	Lafrance, P., Lourie, S., Marsden, D. & Vincent, A.C.J. (Syngnathid Red List Authority)
Justification: Very few data are available for this species. It is known primarily from museum specimens and no information on population status is available. Hong Kong reports imports of seahorses from west Africa (Gambia, Guinea, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo) for traditional medicine. Only Hippocampus algiricus and H. hippocampus (possibly) are known to occur in this region (Lourie et al. 1999), so H. algiricus could potentially be involved in the trade. Appropriate data on biology and ecology, habitat, abundance, and distribution are not available. Further research is needed in order to assess the status of the species.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species is known to occur in Atlantic coastal areas of West Africa.
Countries:	Native: Algeria; Angola; Benin; Côte d'Ivoire; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Liberia; Nigeria; Sao Tomé and Principe; Senegal; Sierra Leone
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – eastern central

Population [top]

Population Trend:	Unknown

Population Trend:

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Habitat preferences are currently unknown (Lourie et al. 1999). This species may be particularly susceptible to decline. All seahorse species have vital parental care, and many species studied to date have high site fidelity (Perante et al. 2002, Vincent et al. in review), highly structured social behaviour (Vincent and Sadler 1995), and relatively sparse distributions (Lourie et al. 1999). The importance of life history parameters in determining response to exploitation has been demonstrated for a number of species (Jennings et al. 1998).
Systems:	Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Habitat preferences are currently unknown (Lourie et al. 1999). This species may be particularly susceptible to decline. All seahorse species have vital parental care, and many species studied to date have high site fidelity (Perante et al. 2002, Vincent et al. in review), highly structured social behaviour (Vincent and Sadler 1995), and relatively sparse distributions (Lourie et al. 1999). The importance of life history parameters in determining response to exploitation has been demonstrated for a number of species (Jennings et al. 1998).

Systems:

Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Major threats to the species are currently unknown.

Major Threat(s):

Major threats to the species are currently unknown.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Further research on this species is needed.

Conservation Actions:

Further research on this species is needed.

Citation:	Project Seahorse 2002. Hippocampus algiricus. In: IUCN 2009. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 09 February 2010.
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