Need and ID Please..
- Thread starter DawgFan79
- Start date
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
can you post more of a profile shot? the markings suggest erectus (i've never seen a lined reidi), but i can't really see a pronounced coronet, nor can i see any cheek or pronounced eye spines. so they could be reidi.
erectus
reidi (note the smoother appearance and "crumpled" coronet, as well as the absence of cheek spines).
erectus
reidi (note the smoother appearance and "crumpled" coronet, as well as the absence of cheek spines).
gtstylez87
New member
im pretty sure they are erectus . it depends where they come from the erectus in florida look like that, but in florida they have both erectus and reidi found it the same waters. so i pretty sure they dont have pure breeds down here. they have the body of erectus but the snout of a reidi.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
H. reidi are not considered endemic to FL, altho there have been specimens encountered off the coast of NC. H. erectus and H. zosterae are the SH species native to those waters.
i suppose the real question is whether the SH in question are WC or CB...if they're CB, the LFS or breeder should know what species they are for sure.
alternatively, a profile shot will remove any doubt.
i suppose the real question is whether the SH in question are WC or CB...if they're CB, the LFS or breeder should know what species they are for sure.
alternatively, a profile shot will remove any doubt.
Last edited:
gtstylez87
New member
first to namxas if you look up the native home range of reidi and erectus they overlap. i have given you the link below. also i have seen erectus and reidi on the same reefs and grass flat when i go diving it key west. its like that down the southern tip of florida.
i have seen spotted reidi with short snouts so there is some cross breeding going on.
erectus(http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=3283#) reidi(http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=3285) i do agree that we need to know if its WC or CB, and where they came from.
DangFan79 thats what if trying to say. when the home ranges overlap cross breeding has occured. they could be like 85%erectus and 15%reidi. thats why i said im pretty sure there are no pure breeds down hear but i would be to suprized if there are some pockets of area where you could find pure breeds.
i have seen spotted reidi with short snouts so there is some cross breeding going on.
erectus(http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=3283#) reidi(http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=3285) i do agree that we need to know if its WC or CB, and where they came from.
DangFan79 thats what if trying to say. when the home ranges overlap cross breeding has occured. they could be like 85%erectus and 15%reidi. thats why i said im pretty sure there are no pure breeds down hear but i would be to suprized if there are some pockets of area where you could find pure breeds.
philter4
New member
I have collected both species here, the ranges of reidi and erectus do overlap, but they do not cross breed in the wild, if they did they would be one species, that is the definition of a species, so if they are WC, they are pure bred. As far as appendages, those are dependant on the habitat, if they were caught in the grass flats the coronet is much less developed then when they come from sargassum weed, I have collected them with long coronets in the weed and almost no coronet in the grass flats.
P. Humann gives a great discription of the 2 species and says the easiest way to tell them apart is by the lines radiating from the eyes, erectus has lines (common name- lines seahorse) reidi doesn't have lines. IMO unless they are captive crosses, they are erectus.
P. Humann gives a great discription of the 2 species and says the easiest way to tell them apart is by the lines radiating from the eyes, erectus has lines (common name- lines seahorse) reidi doesn't have lines. IMO unless they are captive crosses, they are erectus.
gtstylez87
New member
so your telling me that there is no chance of this happening. give me a break. everywhere i have gone they dont have a lot of the pure breeds many more. now i have seen pure erectus out there but im seeing more of erectus with long snouts. thats a reidi trait. and reidis with erectus trait. how do lined seahorses have long snouts
hmmmmm? o yea maybe they mite have cross breed with a reidi a few generations ago. haven't you noticed that you have to go out farther or in more remote areas to see anything in the keys anymore. it has been proven when some animals have a hard time finding a mate and if there is a similar species around the chances of cross breeding is very high. like with dogs and wolf or bottle nosed dolphins and spotted dolphins. or when they mixed cougars from up north to mix the florida panther to bring up the population. and about the coronets thats just a variation in a natural population in a species. the long snout is not one of those variation. the long coronets are used to help it Sh blend in the the sargassum, but a long snout has no really survival use because the SH with short coronets and short snout would die off if the was the case. the longer snout is not a survival adaptation. it comes from cross breeding with reidi.
hmmmmm? o yea maybe they mite have cross breed with a reidi a few generations ago. haven't you noticed that you have to go out farther or in more remote areas to see anything in the keys anymore. it has been proven when some animals have a hard time finding a mate and if there is a similar species around the chances of cross breeding is very high. like with dogs and wolf or bottle nosed dolphins and spotted dolphins. or when they mixed cougars from up north to mix the florida panther to bring up the population. and about the coronets thats just a variation in a natural population in a species. the long snout is not one of those variation. the long coronets are used to help it Sh blend in the the sargassum, but a long snout has no really survival use because the SH with short coronets and short snout would die off if the was the case. the longer snout is not a survival adaptation. it comes from cross breeding with reidi.
philter4
New member
There have been lots and lots of studys on fish down here, and there are no recorded wild crosses, I'm not saying it has never happened, but there are no scientific records of it happening. I've collected both species and there is no doubt when you collect a reidi, the snout is much longer, the ones in the photo do not have a snout that is anywhere near as long as the ones I've seen. Also, I have no idea if they are a cross or not, as I stated earlier, if they are captive bred they could be any number of animals that were used as the parents.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
the bottom line is the photos we were asked to look at aren't clear enuff, nor are they the right angle to really tell right off the bat. you really need good profile shots showing the SH head clearly, so many features such as coronet, eye and cheek spines can be seen.
FWIW, i keep a mixed reidi erectus tank and the SH don't interbreed.
FWIW, i keep a mixed reidi erectus tank and the SH don't interbreed.
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