Featured observation: Sea Pony by shamsa_alhameli

July 21st, 2014

The next featured observation comes from the United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf. iSeahorse contributor shamsa_alhameli managed to spot a sea pony (Hippocampus fuscus) in a seagrass bed. And she managed to snap a great photo in the process!

But it wasn’t just any seagrass bed that this seahorse was found in. In fact, this seahorse has little to worry about as these waters are part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve – the Marawah Biosphere Reserve. Designated in 2007, the reserve is home to a wide variety of important marine habitats, including coral reefs, mangroves, unique macroalgae outcrops. The area is a crucial nursery and spawning grounds for many fish species in addition to seahorses, and is also home to endangered hawksbill and green turtles. Not to mention it’s the second largest aggregation of dugongs in the world.

The sea pony is currently listed as ‘Data Deficient’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. We hope that this and more observations like it will give us enough information to perform a proper conservation assessment of the species in the near future. Thanks for contributing to science and marine conservation shamsa_alhameli!!!

Publicado el 21 de julio de 2014 a las 11:35 PM por projectseahorse