Species Hippocampus tristis Castelnau, 1872
Sad Seahorse, Dull Seahorse
- Hippocampus tristis Castelnau, F.L. de 1872. Contribution to the ichthyology of Australia. 1. The Melbourne fish market. Proceedings of the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria 1: 29-242 1 pl. [197].
Type data:
Syntype(s) MNHP A.4538, Melbourne markets, VIC; MNHP A.4537, Melbourne markets, VIC.
Miscellaneous Literature Names
- Hippocampus kuda Bleeker, 1852. —
Lourie, S.A., Vincent, A.C.J. & Hall, H.J. 1999. Seahorses. An identification guide to the world's species and their conservation. Project Seahorse. x 214 pp. [109] (considered H. tristis to be a junior synonym of H. kuda) - Hippocampus whitei Bleeker, 1855. —
Paxton, J.R., Hoese, D.F., Allen, G.R. & Hanley, J.E. (eds) 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Pisces: Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 7 665 pp. [422] (in part, considered H. tristis to be a junior synonym)
Dawson, C.E. 1994. Family Syngnathidae. pp. 440-475 figs 391-426 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs. [449] (in part, SA record and considered H. tristis as a possible junior synonym)
Introduction
Lourie et al. (2016) treated the species as a junior synonym of H. kuda. They noted that the species was described from one specimen, but now two are labelled types, apparently from the Swan River, rather than the Melbourne Fish Market. Kuiter (2001) suggested they may have come from northern NSW. It is unlikely that fishes from the Melbourne Fish Market would have come from localities far from Melbourne. Whether the original specimen actually came from another locality is unknown. Consequently, there is some uncertainty about whether the specimens currently labelled types are actually the types. Kuiter (2001) suggested that the species was found in subtropical or temperate waters of NSW. Lourie et al (2016). suggested that H. kuda might be a clade of several forms. They suggested that several of the specimens identified by Kuiter (2001) as H. tristis belonged to H. kelloggi, but the distribution map for that species and the map for H. kuda do not show specimens records from NSW, but does include a specimen from South Australia, identified by Kuiter as H. tristis. Until further studies are carried out, we retain the name here for this apparently isolated population. No genetic work has been published relating to this species.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia
Extra Distribution Information
ENE of Pt Cartwright, QLD (26°40'S) to off Sandon Bluff, NSW (29°38'S) and off Adelaide, SA, also Lord Howe Island, records from farther north are probable misidentifications of other species; Subtropical, south-west Pacific.
Australian Endemic.
IMCRA
Lord Howe Province (14), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39)
Ecological Descriptors
Benthic, continental shelf.
Extra Ecological Information
Normally trawled in 18-53 m
General References
Dawson, C.E. 1994. Family Syngnathidae. pp. 440-475 figs 391-426 in Gomon, M.F., Glover, C.J.M. & Kuiter, R.H. (eds). The Fishes of Australia's South Coast. Adelaide : State Printer 992 pp. 810 figs. (as H. whitei in part)
Johnson, J.W. 2010. Fishes of the Moreton Bay Marine Park and adjacent continental shelf waters, Queensland, Australia. pp. 299-353 in Davie, P.J.F. & Phillips, J.A. Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Marine Biological Workshop, The Marine Fauna and Flora of Moreton Bay. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 54(3) [312]
Kuiter, R.H. 2001. Revision of the Australian Seahorses of the genus Hippocampus (Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae) with descriptions of nine new species. Records of the Australian Museum 53: 293-340 [316]
Lourie, S.A., Vincent, A.C.J. & Hall, H.J. 1999. Seahorses. An identification guide to the world's species and their conservation. Project Seahorse. x 214 pp. [109] (as H. kuda)
McCulloch, A.R. 1929. A check-list of the fishes recorded from Australia. Part I. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 5: 1–144 [96] (as Hippocampus tristis)
Munro, I.S.R. 1961. Handbook of Australian fishes. Nos 1–42. Australian Fisheries Newsletter 15–17, 19, 20: 1-172 [published as separates 1956–1961] [92]
Paxton, J.R., Gates, J.E., Hoese, D.F. & Bray, D.J. 2006. Syngnathidae. pp. 810-846 in Hoese, D.F., Bray, D.J., Paxton, J.R. & Allen, G.R. Fishes. In, Beesley, P.L. & Wells, A. (eds) Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 35. Volume 35 Australia : ABRS & CSIRO Publishing Parts 1-3, 2178 pp. [829]
Paxton, J.R., Hoese, D.F., Allen, G.R. & Hanley, J.E. (eds) 1989. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Pisces: Petromyzontidae to Carangidae. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 7 665 pp. [422] (as H. whitei, in part)
Whitley, G.P. 1964. A survey of Australian Ichthyology. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 89(1): 11-127 [38] (542, as Hippocampus tristis)
Common Name References
Munro, I.S.R. 1961. Handbook of Australian fishes. Nos 1–42. Australian Fisheries Newsletter 15–17, 19, 20: 1-172 [published as separates 1956–1961] [92] (Dull Seahorse)
Seafood Services Australia 2008. Australian Fish Names Standard. http://www.fishnames.com.au/. (Kuiter, R.H. 2000. Seahorses, Pipefishes and Their Relatives. Chorleywood, UK : TMC Publishing pp. 240. [43]) (Sad Seahorse)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27-Jul-2017 | SYNGNATHIFORMES | 05-May-2017 | MODIFIED | Dr Doug Hoese Dr Matthew Lockett |
| 25-Jun-2015 | SYNGNATHIFORMES | 20-Jun-2014 | MODIFIED | Dr Dianne Bray (NMV) Dr Doug Hoese (AM) Dr Matthew Lockett (AM) |
| 27-Jul-2010 | MODIFIED |