An “extinct” species of seahorse is observed in Reunion Island

This very rare species was discovered in the waters of Sainte-Rose, in the east of Reunion Island. It was amateur underwater photographers Miguel Ramirez and David Pleuvret who were able to observe and photograph the “tyro hippocampus”.

It was thought to have disappeared from the globe. The “Hippocampus tyro” is an extremely rare species which has only been observed twice: once in the Seychelles in 1990, the animal having already died, and another time, still in the Indian Ocean, in 2022, off the coast of Mauritius. Since then, the international scientific community has estimated that this species, living at around forty meters depth, had disappeared.

This was without taking into account the perseverance and pugnacity of Miguel Ramirez, an amateur photographer with a passion for the seabed. With his partner, David Pleuvret, they were able to capture photos of this little fish, by chance, while they were tracking a small moray eel in the depths.

“The seahorse is very small and has the same color as the underwater biotope. When I saw this little seahorse, I was quite impressed, confides Mr. Ramirez to Réunion La Première. This is an incredible discovery. »

The IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, had however classified the “hippocampus tyro” among the category of “extinct” species.

“I sent my photos to researcher Christophe Cadet, it was he who made the link with Ronald Fricke, a well-known German researcher,” continues Miguel Ramirez. He did an analysis with the images of the species and confirmed that it was indeed a tyro seahorse. »

Although he is an amateur photographer, Miguel Ramirez nevertheless has impressive equipment, acquired, among other things, thanks to prizes and trophies won during competitions. In fact, he has been practicing photography for eight years and diving for six years, reports France Info. The advanced devices thus make it possible to take high-precision images which can then be used in the scientific community.

The photographer therefore intends to continue his underwater research, his next stopover being Bali and the Palau Islands in Micronesia, a trip won during an underwater image competition.