About Hippocampus denise Lourie & Randall, 2003
Denise's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus denise Lourie & Randall, 2003) is a small fish that reaches a maximum length of approximately 2.4 cm, making it one of the smallest known seahorse species. This pygmy seahorse has a short snout, a slender body, and a prehensile tail. Its body is either completely smooth, or covered in a small number of underdeveloped polyp-like tubercles – fewer and less developed than the tubercles found on Hippocampus bargibanti. Its color ranges from more or less bright yellow to orange, often with small dark spots, and sometimes has darker bands on the tail. This species has been recorded at multiple sites across the western Pacific, including Indonesia, Vanuatu, Palau, Malaysia, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. It occurs at depths from 13 to 100 meters, where it generally hides among gorgonian fields, including the genera Annella, Muricella, and Echinogorgia.
