Wakatobi’s Littlest SeahorseA Peek into the Small World of the Pygmy Seahorses at WakatobiThough you might not guess it based on name or appearance, seahorses are actually fish. By 2003 the world had its second pygmy seahorse, more commonly known as Denise’s pygmy, the ‘Littlest Seahorse’. From 2003 to 2008 the following species were identified and named: Coleman’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus colemani); Pontoh’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus pontohi); Severn’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus severnsi); Satomi’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus satomiae); Walea soft coral pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus waleananus). Proving new discoveries are still being made, in April 2018, a Japanese pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus japapigu) was identified, followed by the Sodwana pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus nalu) in 2020. Photo by Richard SmithNearly identical in appearance as well as size to the Pontoh’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus pontohi), the Coleman’s pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus colemani) were first discovered off of the coast of Lord Howe Island, Australia by famed underwater naturalist Neville Coleman.