An unknown seahorse has been discovered in the shallow coastal waters of New Zealand. During recent surveys using a beam trawl, researchers collected this unidentified species of seahorse from New Zealand’s Northland Islands.
The small brown Syngnathid is just about 3cm long but it having been the only such specimen collected, it is unknown whether this is the juvenile of a larger species of a full grown dwarf species. The physical appearance of the little brown New Zealand seahorse does bear a resemblance to the Pygmy Pipehorses of the Idiotropiscis genus.
New species of fresh and saltwater fish are discovered and described on a weekly basis but this new find could be the first new addition to the seahorse family since 2011’s Hippocampus paradoxus and 2009 five new pygmy seahorse species.
[3News]
