Hippocampus trimaculatus

The longnose seahorse, or flat-face seahorse or three-spot seahorse, is accredited to Leach in 1814. Additionally, it's subspecies, the lowcrown seahorse, is accredited to a J. D. Ogilby in 1908 when presented as a separate species. I don't know the details of either of their name origins. Juveniles are known to eat larval meroplanktonhttps://projectseahorse.org/resource/food-and-feeding-habits-of-the-seahorses-hippocampus-spinosissimus-and-hippocampus-trimaculatus-malaysia/.
== Variations & subspecies ==
Fishbase redirects Hippocampus dahli to H. trimaculatus, whereas Project Seahorse and WoRMS recognizes them as different specieshttps://fishbase.se/summary/Hippocampus-trimaculatus.htmlhttps://projectseahorse.org/iseahorse/explore/species/https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=306784https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=212232. Wikipedia, while not an actual good resource, calls both types "low-crowned", suggesting that they are the samehttps://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flat-faced_seahorse&oldid=1068222885https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hippocampus_dahli&oldid=1068215248. However, it wouldn't be the first time two seahorses had the same name. Additionally, one variation of trimaculatus' common name is almost the same as those!
Due to these reasons, I am counting it as a subspecies, Hippocampus trimaculatus dahli. They are different and similar enough to be considered either or. Perhaps this is a compromise or the truth of the situation (as sometimes scientists prefer to not give certain kinds of animals subspecies, and most seahorses aren't given them despite their sometimes spotty ranges). However, they are currently treating it as a synonym. Thus both species names are for the same creature (a flaw that still exists in scientific nomenclature culture). As dahli, they are considered to be found from Darwin, Australia, to Brisbane of the same nation. Since trimaculatus exists all over the eastern pacific, this would make H. trimaculatus dahli the Australian subspecies. The others would be Hippocampus trimaculatus trimaculatus until more research is done to separate the subgroups of populations.
== Sea also ==
Seahorses
== References ==