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Issue: Vol. 5550 No. 1: 10 Dec. 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-12-10
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5550.1.12
Page range: 118-126
Abstract views: 148
PDF downloaded: 117

Bargibant’s pygmy seahorse Hippocampus bargibanti in Taiwan Bank: hidden biodiversity of Taiwan Strait

Marine Ecology and Conservation Research Center; National Academy of Marine Research; Kaohsiung 806614; Taiwan; R.O.C.; Department of Aquaculture; National Penghu University of Science and Technology; Penghu 880011; Taiwan; R.O.C.
Marine Ecology and Conservation Research Center; National Academy of Marine Research; Kaohsiung 806614; Taiwan; R.O.C.
Marine Ecology and Conservation Research Center; National Academy of Marine Research; Kaohsiung 806614; Taiwan; R.O.C.
Coastal and Offshore Fishery Research Center; Fisheries Research Institute; Ministry of Agriculture; Kaohsiung 80672; Taiwan; R.O.C.
Fisheries Research Institute; Ministry of Agriculture; Keelung 202008; Taiwan; R.O.C.
Marine Ecology and Conservation Research Center; National Academy of Marine Research; Kaohsiung 806614; Taiwan; R.O.C.
Marine Ecology and Conservation Research Center; National Academy of Marine Research; Kaohsiung 806614; Taiwan; R.O.C.; Department of Oceanography; and Institute of Marine Ecology and Conservation; National Sun Yat-sen University; Kaohsiung 804201; Taiwan; R.O.C.; Institute of Marine Biology; National Dong Hwa University; and National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium; Pingtung 944401; Taiwan; R.O.C.
Pisces biogeography conservation coral reef new record sand dredging

Abstract

During a scientific expedition in the Taiwan Bank in the southern Taiwan Strait in 2021, five pygmy seahorses, measuring between 18.1 mm and 28.3 mm in standard length, were inadvertently collected along with Muricella sea fans. Morphometric measurements of these pygmy seahorse specimens coincided with the previous data on H. bargibanti, but they had a proportionally greater head depth and snout length. Genetically, DNA marker analysis of partial mitochondrial COI sequences confirmed that our specimens belonged to the same lineage as H. bargibanti, with a p-distance of 0.54% among populations. This discovery enhances our knowledge of the limited biodiversity in the Taiwan Bank, which includes a complex geomorphology of both reef banks and sandy substrates, and highlights the importance of strict laws prohibiting fishing with inadequate gear, invasive or illegal fishing, and sand dredging to protect unexplored coral reef biodiversity in the area.

 

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