Hippocampus algiricus

West African Seahorse

Hippocampus algiricus Kaup, 1856 or West African Seahorse (EN), Cavalo-marinho-africano (PT) or Caballito de Mar de África Occidental (SP) is a poorly studied and highly traded seahorse. It is commonly found on a diversity of habitats throughout West Africa’s coast, from Senegal to Angola, and on Cape Verde, São Tome and Principe, and recently on the Canary Islands as well. This seahorse is recognised by its dark colour, and some individuals have tiny white spots and/or large brown marks embellishing their body.

Despite being considered the fifth most traded seahorse by CITES between 2004 and 2011, H. algiricus has rarely been a subject of ecological studies. Consequently, little is known about its habitat preferences, reproduction, feeding regimes or behaviour. This lack of information threatens the future of H. algiricus, which already shows a declining tendency, with researchers expecting its population size to decrease by 30% in the next 10 years. In the presence of a possible extinction scenario, the IUCN Red List had classified this seahorse as “Vulnerable” suggesting more investigations targeting this species, in order to implement future conservation actions.