Beautiful Big belly

A beautiful yellow big belly seahorse sitting among some seaweed.

This elegant Bigbelly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) has the distinctive large brood pouch which gives this species its “big belly”. This lovely photo was captured by iNaturalist user imogen3184 off the coast of Melbourne, Australia and is our featured iSeahorse observation.

Big bellies range from black to yellow and often have dark markings. They are the largest seahorse species, growing up to 35 centimeters long. They are commonly found on rocky reefs and seagrass beds in the shallow waters of Southeast Australia. They are ambush predators, feeding on small crustaceans such as zooplankton and tiny shellfish at night.

The biggest threat to seahorses comes from bottom trawling. This indiscriminate fishing gear involves dragging a large and heavily weighted net along the ocean floor, catching all marine life in its path while destroying habitats.

Learn more about this harmful fishing practice and take action to #EndBottomTrawling and save seahorses.

Posted on 15 de dezembro de 2021, 05:00 PM by projectseahorse projectseahorse

Comentários

Beautiful photo, I always look forward to coming across them when in the Bay it's such a joy.

Publicado por ken_flan mais de 2 anos antes

Thanks @ken_flan I was interested to hear about the seahorse hotels in Sydney recently - cages in which the endangered White's seahorses can seek refuge.

Publicado por imogenisunderwater mais de 2 anos antes

@imogen3184 Yes I had seen this myself, it seems to be working from what I hear. I have sent a link to an article you may be interested in, you may have already seen it. https://apple.news/AE-7RlHr8QMKk4teitQ4ysw, hopefully you can open it. All the best. Ken

Publicado por ken_flan mais de 2 anos antes

Thanks Ken, @ken_flan - interesting article :)
Imogen

Publicado por imogenisunderwater mais de 2 anos antes

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