Hippocampus denise

Scientific Name: Hippocampus denise Lourie & Randall, 2003

Common Name(s): Denise’s pygmy seahorse

Synonyms: None known

Description: No coronet present. Spines absent from body. Large eye compared to head size. Snout short. Body is thick and fleshy with trunk rings “reduced to separated cross-shaped spicules embedded in the skin”41. Limited number of tubercules on body. Anal fin absent. Brood pouch absent. It appears that this species encloses the developing young within the trunk instead of a brood pouch41. The entrance of this cavity appears to be through a single post-anal slit as in other species of seahorse41. This species was initially thought to represent juvenile H. bargibanti, however the discovery of pregnant individuals refutes this idea41.