April's featured sighting - H. jayakari

April’s featured iSeahorse observation is a Jayakar’s seahorse (Hippocampus jayakari). This lovely portrait was taken off the coast of Dahab, Egypt, by iSeahorse user poseidon. The username poseidon is certainly apt for a fish-whispering diver, as the Poseidon of Greek mythology is said to ride a chariot pulled by aquatic equines called hippocampi, which allegedly have horse heads and fish tails (sort of like seahorses… or horse mermaids!).

The knowledge that Jayakar’s seahorses live in Egyptian waters is relatively new. The 2003 H. jayakari IUCN Red List assessment listed Israel, Oman and Pakistan as habitat for the species, but there was no mention of Egypt. There is still minimal information available on the Jayakar’s seahorse, so it is currently classified as Data Deficient (although this may change soon as we are in the middle of reassessing it).

It’s astonishing how much we still don’t know about our planet! Hopefully, the knowledge that there is a multitude of saltwater secrets awaiting discovery will provide an incentive to protect our oceans. Who knows where else the Jayakar’s seahorse could be swimming? iSeahorse users like you could help us find out!

View the original iSeahorse observation

Peruse the H. jayakari IUCN profile

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Posted on June 2, 2017 10:02 PM by projectseahorse projectseahorse

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