Common Seahorse vs Shoebutton

Hippocampus kuda compared with Ardisia elliptica

Key Differences

• Common Seahorse is Vulnerable while Shoebutton is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Seahorse	Shoebutton
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fish)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Perciformes (Perch-like Fish)	Ericales (Ericales)
Family	Pomacentridae (Clownfish & Damselfish)	Primulaceae
Genus	Amphiprion (Clownfish)	Ardisia
Species	Hippocampus kuda	Ardisia elliptica

Conservation Status

Common Seahorse

VU — Vulnerable

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Shoebutton

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Seahorse	Shoebutton
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.

Shoebutton

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa), Asia (Maldives, Taiwan), Europe (Norway), North America (8 countries), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, Samoa).

Common Seahorse

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

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia