tags: Satomi's pygmy seahorse, Indonesian wildlife, Stephen Wong, Takako Uno, image of the day
Satomi's pygmy seahorse, endemic to Indonesia, is one of the world's tiniest seahorses. Two adults would fit head-to-head across the face of a penny and their offspring are each about the size of a 12-point apostrophe.
Image: Stephen Wong and Takako Uno/National Geographic.
At under half an inch tall (13 millimeters), Satomi's pygmy seahorse -- named after dive guide Satomi Onishi -- is a strong contender for the world's smallest seahorse. With their tails stretched out straight, two Satomi's pygmy seahorses would fit head-to-head across the face of a penny.
These miniscule seahorses from Indonesian reefs have been seen giving birth to tiny offspring, each about the size of a 12-point apostrophe.
Together with two other species, Satomi's pygmy seahorses were named in a December 2008 study.
Boy, does this capture my imagination and bring back my days of diving in the tropics! I never saw this one, but the rare times I saw a seahorse I was smitten.
What a beautiful photo!
Ha! I love how the size of the baby seahorse was described by font size. That gave me a very clear picture!
Hmm....wait a second. This 12-point font we're looking at.... what resolution are we using? 800 x 600? 1400 x 1050?
:)
WOOW!!!! it's soooo beautiful i don't have words.....