A very rare seahorse named “hippocampus tyro” was discovered in the waters of Sainte-Rose, near Reunion Island. Seen by amateur underwater photographers Miguel Ramirez and his partner David Pleuvret, the photos were validated by scientists.
This is an important discovery for the aquatic environment. Immersed in the seabed, photographer Miguel Ramirez managed to take a photo of an extremely rare species, the “tyro seahorse”, presumed extinct. The non-professional diver rushed to transmit his images to the scientific community for analysis.
According to France Info, it was through the German scientist Ronald Fricke that the confirmation was made: it was indeed the “tyro seahorse”, a very rare species, observed only twice in the world before. .
A species presumed extinct
The IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, classifies it as an “extinct” species, but it has resurfaced in the waters of the Indian Ocean.
The “tyro seahorse” was observed in 1990 in the Seychelles, but it was already dead. It was then observed, in 2022, in Mauritius, by divers. Moreover, the international scientific community thought that this species which lived at around forty meters depth had disappeared.
A passionate diver
Although not professional, Miguel has important equipment. Indeed, it is necessary to be well equipped with equipment to succeed in taking such precise photos that can be of real use to science.
“I sent my photos to researcher Christophe Cadet, it was he who made the link with Ronald Fricke, a well-known German researcher. He did an analysis with the images of the species and he confirmed that it was indeed a tyro seahorse.” Speaking to the microphones of France Info, the diver announced that he was going to continue his underwater research.
Winning in an underwater image competition, a stay will then allow him to explore the immensity of the seabed of Bali and the Palau Islands in Micronesia.
