Morphological and molecular evidence for the occurrence of three Hippocampus species (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) in Brazil

Abstract

For many decades only two species of seahorses were recognized from Brazil: Hippocampus reidi Ginsburg, 1933, the long snout seahorse, and H. erectus Perry, 1810, the lined seahorse. The presence of a possible third species, recognized in 2002, brought about the need for a broad revision of the genus in Brazilian waters. A total of 335 specimens of seahorses, obtained from Brazilian and other collections, representing the three putative species from Brazil were analyzed: H. reidi, the species of greatest abundance and occurs in estuaries and the sea; H. erectus, which occurs only in the sea, and Hippocampus patagonicus was also determined to be present based on multiple specimens. Our morphometric / numerical and molecular analysis showed that the species currently identified as H. erectus in Brazil is actually H. patagonicus Piacentino & Luzatto, 2004. The existence of a possible third species, was instead based on the true H. erectus, as confirmed in the present study by the study of classical systematic and mitochondrial analysis. Thus, we recognize three species of seahorses in Brazil: H. erectus, H. reidi and H. patagonicus.

New records of Hippocampus patagonicus Piacentino & Luzzatto, 2004 (Teleostei: Syngnathidae) from the coast of Paraná, southern Brazil

“…After capture, individuals were fixed in 70% ethanol and deposited in the fish collection of the Capão da Imbuia Natural History Museum (MHNCI 12651). González et al (2014) and Silveira et al (2014) (Figure 2), and counts and measurements were consistent with those reported by these authors ( Table 2). Most of the characters provided by Piacentino and Luzzatto (2004) Silveira et al (2014) and González et al (2014).…”

“…González et al (2014) and Silveira et al (2014) (Figure 2), and counts and measurements were consistent with those reported by these authors ( Table 2). Most of the characters provided by Piacentino and Luzzatto (2004) Silveira et al (2014) and González et al (2014). The seahorse H. patagonicus seems to have a limited and uneven distribution in Brazil, known only from a few records from the states of Pernambuco, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul (Anderson et al 2015, Silveira et al 2014; present study).…”

“…To identify the specimens, morphological characters, counts and measurements were taken following Piacentino and Luzzatto (2004), Lourie et al (2004), González et al (2014) and Silveira et al (2014). Measurements to the nearest 0.01 mm were made using a digital caliper.…”

“…To date, only three species of seahorses have been recorded from Brazil: Hippocampus erectus Perry, 1810, Hippocampus reidi Ginsburg, 1933, and Hippocampus patagonicus Piacentino & Luzzatto, 2004(Silveira et al 2014. Among Brazilian seahorses, only H. erectus is listed as vulnerable (VU) to extinction by the IUCN (2015) based on the ongoing population declines and habitat degradation.…”

“…Its distribution seems to be restricted to the coasts of Argentina and Brazil (Piacentino and Luzzatto 2004;Boehm et al 2013;González et al 2014;Silveira et al 2014), and this the southernmost occurring species of its genus in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Previous records of H. patagonicus in Brazil were provided by Boehm et al (2013), Silveira et al (2014) and Anderson et al (2015).…”