A new distributional record of Hippocampus kuda Bleeker, 1852 (Teleostei, Syngnathidae) from Saudi Arabia in the South-Central Red Sea.

The common seahorse, Hippocampus kuda, is widely distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, occurring from East Africa to Hawaii, where it typically inhabits diverse ecosystems such as estuaries, lagoons, coastal zones, and seagrass beds. Despite its extensive geographic range, reports of its occurrence in the Red Sea remains limited, primarily restricted to the northern region of the Red Sea. Here, we report a new distributional record of H.

Phylogenomic analysis of Syngnathidae reveals novel relationships, origins of endemic diversity and variable diversification rates.

Background: Seahorses, seadragons, pygmy pipehorses, and pipefishes (Syngnathidae, Syngnathiformes) are among the most recognizable groups of fishes because of their derived morphology, unusual life history, and worldwide distribution. Despite previous phylogenetic studies and recent new species descriptions of syngnathids, the evolutionary relationships among several major groups within this family remain unresolved.

Results: Here, we provide a reconstruction of syngnathid phylogeny based on genome-wide sampling of 1314 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) and expanded taxon sampling to assess the current taxonomy and as a basis for macroevolutionary insights.

, a new species of pipefish in facultative associations with finger sponges and red algae from New South Wales, Australia (Teleostei, Syngnathidae).

A new species of pipefish, , is described based on the male holotype and two female paratypes, 136.3-145.5 mm SL, collected from red algae (sp.

, a new species of pygmy seahorse from South Africa, and the first record of a pygmy seahorse from the Indian Ocean (Teleostei, Syngnathidae).

A new species and the first confirmed record of a true pygmy seahorse from Africa, , is herein described on the basis of two specimens, 18.9-22 mm SL, collected from flat sandy coral reef at 14-17 meters depth from Sodwana Bay, South Africa. The new taxon shares morphological synapomorphies with the previously described central Indo-Pacific pygmy seahorses, , , , and , and , including diminutive size, twelve trunk rings, prominent cleithral ring and supracleithrum, spines on the fifth and twelfth superior and lateral trunk ridges, respectively, and prominent wing-like protrusions present on the first and/or second superior trunk rings posterior to the head.

Bleeker, 1855, a senior synonym of the southern Queensland seahorse Kuiter, 2001: molecular and morphological evidence (Teleostei, Syngnathidae).

The taxonomic status of the seahorse Kuiter, 2001, type locality Hervey Bay, QLD, Australia, was re-examined based on its strong morphological similarity and geographical proximity to its congener Bleeker, 1855, a species recorded in ten estuaries of New South Wales, Australia. Kuiter (2001) distinguished from by a taller coronet, marginally lower meristics, and spinier physiognomy. Meristic, morphometric, and key diagnostic morphological character comparisons from vouchered specimens of the two purported species collected from Sydney Harbour, Nelson Bay, Port Stephens, NSW and Hervey Bay, Bundaberg, and Moreton Bay, QLD did not show diagnostic differences to support species-level classification of .

, a new species of pygmy seahorse from Japan, with a redescription of (Teleostei, Syngnathidae).

The pygmy seahorse is described based on three specimens, 13.9-16.3 mm SL, collected from a mixed soft coral and algae reef at 11 m depth at Hachijo-jima Island, Izu Islands, Japan.

Molecular phylogeny and patterns of diversification in syngnathid fishes.

The family Syngnathidae is a large and diverse clade of morphologically unique bony fishes, with 57 genera and 300 described species of seahorses, pipefishes, pipehorses, and seadragons. They primarily inhabit shallow coastal waters in temperate and tropical oceans, and are characterized by a fused jaw, male brooding, and extraordinary crypsis. Phylogenetic relationships within the Syngnathidae remain poorly resolved due to lack of generic taxon sampling, few diagnostic morphological characters, and limited molecular data.