Photo Courtesy of Connie D

This slight seahorse was a chance discovery, when Neville Coleman was force to dive inside Lord Howe Island lagoon because waters outside the lagoon were too rough. Described in 2003, still not much is known about Hippocampus colemani.

Habitat

Sea grasses in protected lagoons. Found mainly among Zostera and Halophila. Depth of Up to 5mm.

Range

Only confirmed distribution from Lord Howe Island. Suspected distribution off of the New South Wales coast.

Description

22mm, white, yellow or gold with red rimmed white spots. Males and females very rotund in appearance. Extremely small snout, well defined nose spine.

Life Cycle

Unknown.

Pontoh's Pygmy Seahorse pair. Photo courtesy of CW Ye

H. Pontohi was named after dive guide Hence Pontoh that discovered these tiny seahorses. Just recognized for the first time by science in 2008, its none-the-less attracted divers from all over the world to Bunaken Island in Indonesia where it was discovered. Unlike many pygmy seahorses, this tiny seahorse prefers to hang out on algae.

Habitat

They’ve been spotted on various types of seagrass, living in high-current areas. They are officially recorded as living on Halmedia and on the hydroid Aglaephenia cupressina. Divers report them on many types of seagrass and algae, moving frequently to different hitching spots. Depths between 11 and 25 meters. Often found where halmedia is growing out of reef walls.

Range

South East Asia: Indonesia

Description

17mm maximum size. Round trunk but very thin when viewed from behind, almost laterally compressed. Lacks tubercles found in some pygmy seahorses. Color can range from white to yellow to brown to red and pink hues, and any combination of those colors. Yellowish-brown with red around the dorsal region seems to be a common color morph.

Life Cycle

Not much is known at this point. They are often found in pairs. Two male specimen studied had eleven embroyos.

H. bargibanti - pygmy seahorse

H. bargibanti was one of the first pygmy seahorses discovered. In 1969 it was found in a lab, having hitched a ride on a gorgonian that was being studied. Since that time, H. bargibanti has been sought after by divers.

Habitat

This pygmy seahorses is found only on seafans of the genus Muricella. They are found at depths between 16 and 40 meters.

Range

H. bargibanti can be found in tropical waters in the Pacific around Australia, Indonesia, Japan, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.

Description

Small, no larger that 2.4cm. Two color variants seem to exist, a yellow and a pink, which matches the Muricella corals they inhabit. Their bodies are round with an extremely short, bulbous snout. They are covered in knobby tubercles that mimic the seafans they live on.

Life Cycle

Little is known about the lifecyle of pygmy seahorses, but of the pygmy seahorses, H. bargibanti is the most well known. They are thought to form monogamous pair bonds, even though many pygmy seahorse can be found on one gorgonian. Mating occurs year-round. On the lower portion of the abdomen, males have a brood pouch in which the female lays her eggs. They are fertilized by the male, and incubated until birth two weeks later.

Photo by Daniel Kwok

Pygmy seahorses are part of the same group that all seahorses are, the genus Hippocampus. However they differ from most other species as they are rarely larger than 1 inch. These tiny seahorse species are found through the world, most less than one inch in size. More interestingly most species have been discovered within the past 10 years. They are an extremely popular attraction for recreational divers and underwater photographers.