New record of the Japanese Seahorse Hippocampus mohnikei Bleeker, 1853 (Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae) in Hong Kong waters

By

Yiu, Sam King Fung
Chow, Cher Fuk Yat
Tsang, Steven Hong Tai
Zhang, Xiong
Chung, Jeffery Tzu Hao
Sin, Shadow Ying Tung
Chow, Wing Kuen
Chan, Leo Lai

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022-5-4

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

18

Series / Issue

Issue: 3

Pages

455--461

Subjects

distribution expansion , South China Sea , species distribution , subtropical region

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/18.3.455

 

Abstract

A new record of Hippocampus mohnikei Bleeker, 1853 was confirmed in Hong Kong through morphological and molecular identification. It is highly possible that there is an established population of H. mohnikei in Hong Kong due to continuous sightings by citizen scientists in the past nine years. The record is significant from a biogeographical perspective as it connects the distributions of known populations in northern China and Japan to those spanning Thailand to India. This further affirms the status of Hong Kong as a hotspot for seahorse biodiversity and conservation in China.