Three-spot seahorse

How it lives

It lives on gravel or sand bottoms around shallow reefs, in muddy estuaries and near mangroves, and it tolerates brackish water. FishBase gives a depth of 0 to 100 m, usually 0 to 20 m. It occurs singly or in pairs. As in all seahorses, the male carries the eggs in a brood pouch under the tail. Gestation is about 11 to 20 days, depending on water temperature, and breeding peaks around March to May in Chinese waters. Colour varies a lot, from golden orange or sandy to black, and some animals are striped.

Where it goes

Adults seem to stay in shallow coastal water, singly or in pairs, and no long migration is described in the sources checked. Young seahorses have been seen drifting just below the surface in open water in the Malacca Strait, which is one way the species can spread.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

Endangered on the IUCN Red List in the 2026 assessment, up from Vulnerable in the 2012 assessment, and listed in CITES Appendix II. The range runs from India to Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and French Polynesia. Threats named include habitat loss, bycatch in shrimp trawls on sandy and muddy bottoms, and a large trade for traditional medicine, souvenirs and pets. In Hong Kong, the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation lists it as one of three seahorse species recorded in local waters, but its 2011 to 2012 survey of 31 sites found only six seahorses, all of them yellow seahorses.