Pygmy Seahorse

Description:

Pygmy seahorses are a group of seven species (?) of miniature syngnathids (technical name for seahorses and pipefish) fish that live in the Coral Triangle region of southeast Asia. They range in length from 1.4 – 2.7 cm between the tip of the tail to the end of the snout. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/...

Habitat:

This tiny, expert camouflage artist thrives among gorgonian corals (a soft coral also known as a sea fan or sea whip) in the genus Muricella, which they hang on to using their prehensile tail.

Notes:

Within the first decade of the 21st century six of the present total of seven species of pygmy seahorse were officially named. Bargibant’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) , Denise’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise) , Pontoh’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus pontohi) , Satomi’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus satomiae) , Severn’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus severnsi) , Walea soft coral pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus waleananus) . The final species of pygmy seahorse, Coleman’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus colemani), is thought to be restricted to Lord Howe Island off the east coast of Australia although there are unconfirmed reports from eastern Papua New Guinea and Taiwan.