Journal archives for May 2014

May 21, 2014

A lined seahorse spotted way up north in Canada!

May 21st, 2014

Featured observation: lined seahorse by uwdistribution

Our new feature observation comes to us from further north than most seahorse species live. Hippocampus erectus, also known as the lined seahorse , has been observed by uwdistribution in St. Margaret’s Bay near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

This location is likely north of the species’ normal range, as it is not usually observed in the area. It has not been spotted this far north since 2000, and prior to that since 1989. A rare sighting indeed! It is thought that some individual seahorses of this species occasionally travel north via the Gulf Stream current from their homes further south to end up in Nova Scotia.

The northern seahorse is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and has seen population declines as a result of the aquarium trade, the degradation of its coastal seagrass habitat, and being caught as incidental bycatch in shrimp trawl fisheries.

Thanks to uwdistribution for contributing this rare observation!

Posted on May 21, 2014 10:51 PM by projectseahorse projectseahorse | 1 comment | Leave a comment

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