The pygmy seahorse was only recently discovered for the first time after a specimen of a gorgonian fan was bought in for research by a scientist scuba diving in Indonesia. The pygmy seahorse is the smallest seahorse species in the world growing only up to 2 centimeters, and it's highly cunning in blending in with its surroundings. Large bulbous tubercles cover the species' body which resembles the soft coral polyps of the host gorgonian fan making it extremely difficult to spot in its natural environment.
What is perhaps most fascinating about the Pygmy Seahorses is the way they have taken on the characteristics of so many other species of both marine and terrestrial life. The species' head resembles that of a horse, tail like that of monkeys that it uses to cling to its home. Pygmy seahorses incubate its eggs in its pouch like marsupials; it has outer skeleton like insects, and it can move it's eyes like chameleons.
During courting behavior the male will attach itself to her hitching post and then proceed to vibrate his dorsal fin to attract her attention. She then extends her egg tube and will pass them into his pouch. The male seahorse then holds the eggs during pregnancy and is one of the only species of its kind to carry out birth. Pygmy seahorses are thought to feed on the same zooplankton as their host polyps although very little is known about their life cycle thereafter.
Pygmy seahorses are found all over the world, but are especially widespread in the western pacific, specifically Indonesia, Papua, Fiji, and the Philippines. Those diving in Indonesia are increasingly on the look out for this rare species which is increasingly growing in popularity amongst the diving community since its first discovery. Observe the animal in its natural environment yourself for you to fully appreciate its grandeur.
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