The specific name honors Earl D. Reid of the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian Institution.

[4] The slender seahorses have a gestation period of around two weeks and typically grow to be approximately 6.8 inches long (17.5 centimeters), while the mean height of juvenile slender seahorses is only around 8.2 millimeters.

However, both males and females may have brown or white spots placed sporadically upon their body.

These spots may also change into a pink or white color during the courtship period.

It is native to many countries, including the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, United States (Florida and North Carolina), and Venezuela.