Description

Seahorses are members of the family Syngnathidae from the Greek words syn, meaning together or fused, and gnathus, meaning jaws. They share this family with fish like the pipefish. Seahorses alone belong to the genus Hippocampus, from the Greek words for horse (hippos) and sea monster (campus). While seahorses appear to be very different from other fishes in the sea, they are fish nonetheless. They belong to the same class as all other bony fish (Actinopterygii), such as salmon or tuna.