Hippocampus sarmaticus

Hippocampus sarmaticus
Temporal range: Middle Miocene (Serravallian),
Artist's reconstruction with the smaller S. slovenicus on the right
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae
Genus: Hippocampus
Species:
†H. sarmaticus
Binomial name
†Hippocampus sarmaticus
Žalohar, Hiti, Križnar, 2009[1]

Hippocampus sarmaticus is 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 slovenicus.[2]

The Dol Formation dates 11 to 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. Among the remains, one adult female specimen is fully preserved, with bony plates and other important macroscopic features. The rest are mostly juvenile specimens and remains of head and backbones of adults. H. sarmaticus appears to show some taxonomic affinities to the modern Hippocampus trimaculatus.[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. ^ a b c 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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