As well as being home to the world’s largest animals, the ocean is also where some of the smallest creatures on our planet dwell. Take the Denise’s pygmy seahorse, for example: a diminutive fish that hides in clusters of coral-like organisms called gorgonians.
This seahorse is a master of camouflage – it is able to change the colour of its body to match its surroundings, and the small tubercles on its body closely resemble the projections found on the gorgonians it spends its life lurking in. Indeed, a single Denise’s pygmy seahorse may spend its entire life attached to the same piece of coral.
Like other seahorses, the male Denise’s pygmy is responsible for storing the eggs of their offspring, effectively giving birth instead of the female. Once the baby seahorses have emerged from their father’s ventral pouch, they are left to fend for themselves.
