Hippocampus

Hippocampus
Species information
Eye colour	Varies
Skin colour	Blue Red
Native to	Greece
Mortality	Mortal
Distinction	Horse's upper body Fish's lower body Lives in water
Affiliation	Merpeople
Ministry of Magic Classification	Beast XXX
Status	Extant

"Originating in Greece, the Hippocampus has the head and forequarters of a horse and the tail and hindquarters of a giant fish. Though the species is usually to be found in the Mediterranean, a superb blue roan specimen was caught by merpeople off the shores of Scotland in 1949 and subsequently domesticated by them. The Hippocampus lays large, semi-transparent eggs through which the Tadfoal may be seen."

— Newt Scamander, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

The Hippocampus was a magical water beast with the head and forequarters of a horse, and the tail and hindquarters of a giant fish. There was a constellation that seemingly depicted a Hippocampus.

Description

Originally from Greece, it was generally found in the Mediterranean, although a blue roan specimen was caught by Merpeople off the coast of Scotland in 1949 and domesticated. The Hippocampus laid large, semi-transparent eggs through which the baby hippocampus, known as a Tadfoal, could be seen.

Etymology

• Hippocampus is derived from the words "hippos" means "horse" and "kampos" means "sea monster".
• The Hippocamp or Hippocampus, like many creatures in the Harry Potter series, is derived from Greek mythology. A Hippocampus-like creature can be seen in the painting "The Chariot of Poseidon".
• Hippocampus also refers to a major component of the brains of humans and other mammals. It is what enables the conscious short term memory, and was famously removed from Henry Molaison, when a doctor suspected that removing it would cure his epilepsy.

Behind the scenes

• A Hippocampus model was constructed for the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where it was meant to be painted as an ice sculpture and used for decoration in the Yule Ball scene. However, the resulting model ended up being too large for that purpose, and thus the concept was dropped.

Appearances

The unfinished Hippocampus model from the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film) (Cut from final film)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (First appearance)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (Cut from the film)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website)
• Hogwarts Legacy (Picture only)