If you’re a fan of miniatures, you’ll love the Denise’s Pygmy Seahorse. This underwater critter is the tiniest type of seahorse, typically measuring less than 2 centimetres in total!

When you’re that small, you aren’t exactly easy to spot – and, as it happens, the Pygmy Seahorse was discovered by chance when scientist Georges Bargibant was collecting specimens of Muricella corals for the Nouméa museum. While dissecting the coral, he happened to notice a pair of tiny seahorses.

Unlike other seahorses, this species has a single gill opening on the back of the head instead of on the sides. Within this family, it’s the male who takes charge of protecting the young, carrying the minuscule babies in a pouch on their trunk.