Hippocampus colemani, Kuiter 2003

Sara A. Lourie, Riley A. Pollom & Sarah J. Foster, 2016, A global revision of the Seahorses Hippocampus Rafinesque 1810 (Actinopterygii: Syngnathiformes): Taxonomy and biogeography with recommendations for further research, Zootaxa 4146 (1), pp. 1-66 : 20

H. colemani Kuiter 2003

English common names. Coleman’s Pygmy Seahorse. Holotype. AMS I41181- 001. Paratypes: AMS I41181-002. Type locality. Lord Howe Island , Australia. Synonyms. None.

Distribution. Australia (Lord Howe Island).

Notes. The original description of H. colemani was based only on the two type specimens ( Kuiter 2003) and contained errors (corrected in Lourie & Kuiter 2008). Two additional specimens from Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, are housed in the NMV and tentatively assigned to H. colemani . However, they are substantially smaller and have body proportions more similar to H. pontohi ( Lourie & Kuiter 2008) . Given the relative isolation of Lord Howe Island, the paucity of specimens available for comparisons, and their many shared features, it is possible that the specimens described as H. colemani represent a population of a more widespread species that was subsequently, erroneously, described as H. pontohi . If this were the case (genetic data would be helpful to resolve this question), H. colemani would be the species name retained based on the Principle of Priority (Article 23, International Code of Zoological Nomenclature).