Hippocampus slovenicus

Hippocampus slovenicus
Temporal range: Middle Miocene (Serravallian),
Artist's reconstruction
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species:
†H. slovenicus
Binomial name
†Hippocampus slovenicus
Žalohar, Hiti, Križnar, 2009[1]

Hippocampus slovenicusis an extinct species of seahorse from the Middle Miocene of Europe, where it inhabited the Paratethys Sea. Fossil specimens were discovered in 2005 from the Serravallian-aged coprolite horizon of the Dol Formation of the Tunjice hills lagerstätte in Slovenia, along with the related Hippocampus sarmaticus.[2]

The horizon dates 13 million years back to the lower Sarmatian during the middle Miocene period, making the two species the earlier known seahorse fossils in the world. The remains consist mostly of juvenile specimens and of head and backbones of adults. H. slovenicus had a narrow head with a long snout about 50% HL with 11 trunk rings and a short tail 50% more of body with 25-26 tail rings and an extremely long dorsal fin base. Hippocampus slovenicus had numerous small black spots of pigment all over the body. H. sarmaticus appears to show taxonomic affinities to the modern pygmy seahorses.[1][3]

The animals are believed to have lived among seagrasses and macroalgae in the temperate shallow coastal waters of the western part of the central Paratethys.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Žalohar J.; Hitij T.; Križnar M. (2009). "Two new species of seahorses (Syngnathidae, Hippocampus) from the Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) Coprolitic Horizon in Tunjice Hills, Slovenia: The oldest fossil record of seahorses". Annales de Paléontologie. 95 (2): 71–96. Bibcode:2009AnPal..95...71Z. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2009.03.002.
  2. ↑ "PBDB". paleobiodb.org. Archived from the original on 2023-09-04. Retrieved 2026-06-11.
  3. ↑ Wilson, A. B.; Orr, J. W. (2011). "The evolutionary origins of Syngnathidae: pipefishes and seahorses". Journal of Fish Biology. 78 (6): 1603–1623. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.02988.x. ISSN 1095-8649.

Further reading

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