Short-snouted Seahorse Hippocampus hippocampus

The Short-snouted Seahorse, as its name indicates, has a shortish snout for a seahorse, about a third of its head length. It was native to seagrass and estuaries of the Mediterranean and northern African shallow coasts (including Canary Islands and Azores) but seems to have expanded north with warmer seas and the Gulf Stream. It is now found along the UK west and south coasts (including Thames estuary in 2006), Channel and much of the northeastern Atlantic.

It has a spine above each eye. Colour is generally brown, purple or mottled but can be blackish or orange. Length is up to 15cm.