Page 81 - World of Animals - Issue #29

Bizarre!

The most colourful miniature DENISE’S PYGMY
SEAHORSE
Hippocampus denise
seahorse is as strange Class Actinopterygii

as it is small Territory Coral reefs in Asia
and the Pacific

Diet Zooplankton
Lifespan Unknown
As bright as their surroundings and Adult weight Unknown
expertly hidden, these amazing Conservation status
creatures were only recently discovered
DATA DEFICIENT

The males
give birth

Like most seahorses, it is the males
that undergo pregnancy and give
birth, but the female Denise’s
pygmy seahorse deposits hundreds
of eggs into the male’s trunk
(instead of in their tail, as with
other seahorses). Once safely
inside dad’s body, the eggs are
developed, and the male’s
stomach swells until they are
ready to be born.

A fish that

can’t swim

Because of their small size, they
actually can’t swim very well and rely
on their prehensile tails to stay rooted
to the coral they spend their lives
in. They do have a swim bladder and
gills like other fish, but the relentless

currents of the strong oceans are just
too much for these miniature seahorses,
and staying anchored helps to avoid
any Finding Nemo-type situations.

Freaky feeders

They feed very frequently as they don’t have
a digestive system, and therefore nowhere to
store food. They must eat continuously to get
an adequate supply of nutrients. With no jaws,
they use their snouts like straws, sucking food
into their mouths.
Masters of One of Earth’s No two seahorses
camoufl age smallest seahorses look the same

These tiny horse-like critters have a sneaky This tiny fish holds the record as one of the After birth, the little ones float around

way of staying hidden. Their bodies are smallest of pygmy seahorses. They are so effortlessly in the ocean until they find

covered in small tubercles to mimic the small that as adults they only grow to less themselves a host coral to call home. At this
polyps of their coral hosts. They are so hard than two centimetres (0.8 inches) in length. stage they are only 13 millimetres (0.5 inches)
to spot that they were only discovered when This is also another reason why they weren’t long. Once they are settled, they begin to take
scientists accidently captured them while discovered for so long – their small size makes on the shape and texture of their preferred © Alamy
studying gorgonian corals in 2003. for a good disguise! coral, with some more smooth than others.
81