“In 2017, diving instructor Savannah Nalu Olivier was exploring the eastern coast of South Africa in Sodwana Bay when she spotted something surprising: a tiny seahorse no bigger than her fingernail. When pygmy seahorse expert Richard Smith and biologist Louw Claassens saw photos of Olivier’s find, they realized she had made a huge discovery, Douglas Main reports for National Geographic.
Until now, only seven pygmy seahorse species had been identified worldwide. One of those species was discovered in Japan, and the remaining six were found in the Coral Triangle in the eastern Pacific. This newly discovered South African species lives 5,000 miles away and is the first pygmy seahorse discovered in the Indian Ocean, per a University of Leeds statement.”
View the whole story here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/newly-discovered-pygmy-seahorse-species-size-fingernail-180975001/