Common Seahorse vs Greater dodder

Hippocampus kuda compared with Cuscuta europaea

Key Differences

• Common Seahorse is Vulnerable while Greater dodder is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Seahorse	Greater dodder
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fish)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Perciformes (Perch-like Fish)	Solanales (Solanales)
Family	Pomacentridae (Clownfish & Damselfish)	Convolvulaceae
Genus	Amphiprion (Clownfish)	Cuscuta
Species	Hippocampus kuda	Cuscuta europaea

Conservation Status

Common Seahorse

VU — Vulnerable

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Greater dodder

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Seahorse	Greater dodder
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	5 years	—
Average Length	17 cm	—
Average Weight	10 g	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Seahorse

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, and Philippines. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Greater dodder

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Bhutan, Turkey), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States).

Common Seahorse

The common seahorse is found in tropical and temperate waters. Males carry and deliver the babies.