black sea red data book - Department of Biology

Hippocampus guttulatus microstephanus Slestenenko, 1937
Synonyms: Hippocampus brevirostris Slestenenko, 1936
Common names: Engl: Sea horse; Bulg: Morsko konche; Georg: Zghvis tskheni;
Rom: Calut de mare; Russ: Morskoy konyok; Turk: Karadeniz deniz aygiri; Ukr:
Mors'ky konyk
Order SYNGNATHIFORMES
Family SYNGNATHIDAE
Taxonomic description. The only subspecies of Hippocampus in the Black Sea.
Body articulate, of unusual form. Head forms an angle with body axis. Reverse part
of tail section turned down. Dorsal fin 18-21 soft rays. Body rings 11, tail rings 34-
38, subdorsal rings 3-2. Length of adult fishes up to 13 cm.
IUCN Status
World level:
Black Sea Regional level: EN
Subregion level: EN
Distribution. Northern part of the Black Sea (Crimean, Russian, Caucasian,
Romanian and Bulgarian coasts, western part of Azov Sea, Kerchensky Strait).
Habitat type, Critical habitats, Limiting factors. Coastal waters. Adult fishes
most common among Zostera belts. The critical habitat is therefore the Zostera
thicket. The main limiting factors are the reduction of this Zostera biocenosis.
241