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Hippocampus bargibanti, also known as Bargibant's seahorse or the pygmy seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae found in the central Indo-Pacific area. [3]This pygmy seahorse is tiny—usually less than 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in size—and lives exclusively on gorgonian sea-fans, as its coloration and physical features expertly mimic the coral for camouflage. [4]
The pygmy seahorse is both tiny and well camouflaged.It is very difficult to spot amongst the sea grasses, soft corals, or gorgonians (sea fans) that it inhabits. Other distinctive pygmy seahorse characteristics include a fleshy head and body, a very short snout, and a long, prehensile tail.
Hippocampus waleananus, the Walea pygmy seahorse, is a species of seahorse endemic to the Togian Islands in Indonesia, and is associated with specific soft corals. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] The species was described in 2009 from a single specimen which was found close to the island Walea.
Denise's pygmy seahorse uses adaptive camouflage, changing its color to match that of the surrounding gorgonians. [4] It feeds on small crustaceans and other zooplankton. [6] An individual will stay on a single coral for the duration of its entire life. The species is ovoviviparous, and it is the male who broods the eggs in its ventral brood pouch.
Satomi's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus satomiae) is the smallest known seahorse in the world with an average length of 13.8 millimetres (0.54 in) and an approximate height of 11.5 millimetres (0.45 in). [4] This member of the family Syngnathidae is found at the Derawan Islands off Kalimantan.
Because pygmy seahorses are so small — about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long — divers tend to photograph them in extreme close-ups, which include detailed views of nearby corals.
The bullneck seahorse (Hippocampus Minotaur) is a pygmy seahorse in the genus Hippocampus. This seahorse has never been found in the wild, [1] and little is known about its natural habitat. The only known specimens were collected on the coast of Eden, Australia. It is thought to live in sand beds at the bottom of the ocean, "64 - 100 meters ...
Pygmy seahorses have a single gill opening on the back of the head (instead of two on the sides as in normal seahorses), and the males brood their young inside their trunk, instead of in a pouch on the tail. [11] A molecular phylogeny confirms that the pygmy seahorses are a monophyletic sister lineage of all other seahorses. [10]