---
title: "Bigbelly Seahorse"
description: "Hippocampus abdominalis — Fish. The big-belly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) or pot-bellied seahorse is one of the largest seahorse species in the world, with a length of up to 35 cm (14 in), and is the largest in Australia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/bigbelly-seahorse
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Bigbelly Seahorse

> Hippocampus abdominalis — Fish. The big-belly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) or pot-bellied seahorse is one of the largest seahorse species in the world, with a length of up to 35 cm (14 in), and is the largest in Australia.

- Scientific name: *Hippocampus abdominalis*
- Category: `fish` (Fish)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 4051
- Wikidata: [Q572365](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q572365)
- iNaturalist taxon: [69837](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/69837)

## Names

- en: Bigbelly Seahorse
- de: Dickbauchseepferdchen
- es: Caballito de mar panzón del este

## Countries with the most observations

AU (3146), NZ (527)

## Summary

The big-belly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) or pot-bellied seahorse is one of the largest seahorse species in the world, with a length of up to 35 cm (14 in), and is the largest in Australia. Seahorses are members of the family Syngnathidae, and are teleost fishes.  They are found in south-eastern Australia and New Zealand, and are listed on Appendix II of CITES. They are the only species of seahorse found in New Zealand, with a habitat range spanning from the Three Kings Island in the north all the way to the Snares Islands in the south.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big-belly_seahorse

## Photo

![Bigbelly Seahorse](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/bigbelly-seahorse/medium.jpg)

Photo: Liam Clayton Media · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39078769

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/bigbelly-seahorse?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).