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.

Photo Courtesy of John Sear

The title for smallest of the small goes to Satomi’s Pygmy Seahorse. A max size of only 1.4cm, its no surprise this species went so long without being discovered. It is found in scattered locations throughout Indonesia, and are extremely difficult to spot even in known locations.

Habitat

H. satomiae seems to prefer seafans. It is found at depths of 15 – 20 meters in groups of 3 – 5 individuals.

Range

Sparse Indonesian locals. Found in Derawan, and Lembeh Strait. Also found in northern Borneo, Malaysia.

Description

Extremely small, no larger than 1.4cm. Spines covering entire body. Round trunk in both males and females. Large eyes relative to head size. white to pale brown or greyish base colour; black spot immediately anterior to eye. May have red highlights on or around gills.

Life Cycle

Birth has been observed in the wild. Young are born around down and are 3mm in size, and very dark. Pelagic young settle near the adults. 8 embroyos were found in the pouch of the male used for describing the species.

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.

Photo Courtesy of Daniel Kwok

Often confused with Hippocampus bargibanti, H. denise wasn’t recognized as a different species until 2002. It’s named after Denise Tackett, the underwater photographer that brought attention to its differences from H. bargibanti, including smaller size and lack of tubercles. It was originally believed to be the juvenile form of H. bargibanti. Closer inspection revealed it is in fact a seperate species.

Habitat

Found at 13–90 m depth; it lives on seafans identified as Annella reticulata, Muricella sp. Echinogorgia sp.

Range

Indonesia; Malaysia; Federated States of Micronesia; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Solomon Islands; Vanuatu

Description

Small, no larger than 2.14cm. Smooth skin with only a few tubercles at most. Bent, asymmetrical appearance. Color matches host gorgonian, typically red, orange, or yellow. Females have a slender body with a small bulge at the base of their trunk. Males significantly more round in appearance.

Life Cycle

Suspected to breed year round as males have been found pregnant at various times of the year. Suspected to be monogamous.

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

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.