Hippocampus is one of the traditional precious animal Chinese medicines, its nature is warm, taste sweet, into the liver, kidney meridian, has the effect of warming the kidneys and strengthening the yang, dispersal of knot swelling, mainly used for impotence, enuresis, renal deficiency, asthma, obstruction of the masses, bruises and injuries, etc.; external treatment of carbuncles, boils and swollen boils. Seahorses in our country are rich in resources, there are more species, by the "Chinese Pharmacopoeia" contains five species, identification methods are as follows:

1, trait identification

(1) line seahorses? The seahorse is long and curved, with a body length of about 30cm, and a yellowish-white surface. The head is slightly similar to a horse's head, with a crown-like protuberance, with a long tubular kiss, small mouth, toothless, two eyes deep-set. Carapace seven-angled, tail four-angled, tapering curls, the body has corrugated nodes and short spines. Body light, bony, hard. Gas slightly fishy, taste slightly salty.

(2) Great Horse? The body length of the large horse is 20-30cm. blackish brown. The crown of the head is low, with five short blunt thick spines at the tip, the anastomosis tube is long, and the anastomosis length is precisely equal to the postorbital head length. The small spines on the head and body ring and tail ring are not obvious, and there are tiny dark brown spots on the head and body side.

(3) Spiny seahorse? The body length of the spiny seahorse is 15-20 cm. the crown of the head is not high, and the tip of the head has 4-5 small spines that are fine and sharp. The muzzle is elongated and tubular, and the muzzle is longer than or equal to the postorbital head length. The spiny spines are obvious at the junction of each bone ring on the body and on the head, and only the small fins of the posterior caudal ring are less obvious, which is a characteristic of the spiny seahorse. The body is pale yellowish brown, with a longitudinal split spot near the tip of the dorsal fin, and the tips of the small spines on the body are black.

(4) Three-spotted seahorse The three-spotted seahorse has a body length of 10 to l7 cm, a dorsal fin of 20 to 2l, and a pectoral fin of 17 to 18. The crown of the head is short and small, with five short protruding spines on the tip. The anastomosis is short, less than one-half the length of the head, the dorsal nodes are elevated crests, and the dorsal lateral spines are larger than those of other species. Body yellowish brown or blackish brown. There are three large black spots at the base of the dorsal spines of the 1st, 4th, and 7th nodes on the lateral side of the body, which are distinctive features of the three-spotted seahorse.

(5) Small seahorses Small seahorses are also known as Japanese seahorses. The body is small, 7-10cm long, blackish brown, with small nodes and short spines. It lives in the sea where the algae are flourishing. When stationary, the tail has the ability to curl, entangled in the seaweed stems and branches. When swimming, head upward, body slightly oblique, upright in the water, relying on the dorsal fin for movement. Eats small crustaceans.

2, rapid identification

(1) line seahorses body is long prismatic, curved, body length of 30 ~ 34cm. head like a horse's head, long, tubular muzzle, abdominal compression, tail quadrangular, coiled. The whole body has hard, bony ribs. Therefore, there is a "horse head, snake tail corrugated body" proverb.

(2) The big sea horse is 20-33cm long, with a dark brown body and fine dark black spots on the head and side of the body.

(3) The spiny seahorse has obvious spines on its body and head, so it is called the spiny seahorse.

(4) The three-spotted seahorse has three large black spots at the base of the small spines on the dorsal side of the body in sections 1, 4, and 7, which is a distinctive feature of the three-spotted seahorse.

(5) The sea mussel (i.e., small seahorse) is seahorse-like but small.

Extended information:

Survival of seahorses

Seahorses are facing great Millions of seahorses are harvested every year for use in traditional Chinese medicine or for aquariums. This, coupled with the massive destruction of seagrass areas, mangroves and coral reefs, which are natural habitats for seahorses, for the sake of economic development, has had a particularly far-reaching impact.?

As of 2013, seahorses on the market are still basically wild and difficult to raise in captivity, with seahorses having very high requirements for sunlight, temperature, and feed. As of 2013, there have been no successful cases of large-scale artificial rearing. The relevant organizations in China's production areas are trying to promote seahorse breeding. Since it is a wild resource, it is difficult to raise it artificially. In addition, seahorses are classified as Grade 2 national protected animals, and the value of seahorses is gradually recognized by the market.

So the market price of seahorses is gradually rising. Taking the 2013 prices of relevant pharmacies with sales qualifications as a reference, the price per gram ranges from 30-50 yuan per gram depending on the species and the weight of a single...?

Seahorses are China's second-class protected animals, according to the "Implementation Regulations for the Protection of Aquatic Wildlife", only enterprises or individuals with the "People's Republic of China *** and the State Aquatic Wildlife Business Utilization License" can legally acquire and sell. If you have to process seahorses, you have to obtain a national pharmaceutical approval to produce.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Seahorse