Seahorse is the name given to 54 species of small marine
fishes in the
genus Hippocampus. "Hippocampus" comes from the
Ancient Greek word
hippos meaning "horse" and
kampos meaning "sea monster". The word "seahorse" is often written as two separate words (sea horse), or hyphenated (sea-horse). Having a head and neck suggestive of a
horse, seahorses also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled
prehensile tail.