Tag: Seahorse

Year of the Horse 2026: A selection of equine-related species to celebrate the Lunar New Year

Pensoft celebrates the Year of the Horse by showcasing scientific discoveries of equine-adjacent species.

Lunar New Year is a celebration of the arrival of spring and the beginning of a new year on the lunar calendar. As the most important holiday in China, it is also widely celebrated across Korea, Vietnam, and other countries with a substantial Chinese diaspora.

In celebration of 2026 as the Year of the Horse, we reviewed our journals for horse-related studies. While our recent publications do not focus on horses themselves, we have highlighted several fascinating species that share an equine connection in their names.

2026 may be the Year of the Fire Horse, but we start our series with a creature of the opposite element: the seahorse!

Hippocampus japapigu in situ, Hejie, Kenting, Taiwan. (Photo credit: Chao-Tsung Chen).

Monitoring tiny, cryptic pygmy seahorses can be costly and logistically challenging. To overcome this, researchers from Taiwan turned to citizen science, gathering photographs from divers and underwater photographers via social media. Five species were identified, including two never before recorded in the region.

Among them is the charismatic “Japan pig” seahorse, Hippocampus japapigu, originally described from Japan in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

At the time, only seven pygmy seahorses had been identified globally. Documenting five of them in Taiwan established the region among the world’s biodiversity hotspots for these miniature fish.

Read more: ZooKeys 883: 83–90. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.883.39662

But seven did not remain the final count for long. In Chinese tradition, eight is considered an auspicious number, associated with prosperity and good fortune.

Enter Hippocampus nalu – the eighth recognized pygmy seahorse species!

Hippocampus nalu in situ, Sodwana Bay, South Africa at 14 m depth. (Photo credit: Richard Smith, oceanrealmimages.com).

It is also the first confirmed true pygmy seahorse recorded from Africa. Measuring just 20 mm, this tiny species was discovered at depths of 17 m on a sandy coral reef in Sodwana Bay, South Africa.

Read more: ZooKeys 934: 141–156. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.934.50924

Seahorses also feature in a remarkable Mediterranean story…

A study published in Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria documented a stable and conspicuous population of the long-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus, in a highly polluted coastal lagoon in the Ionian Sea.

Hippocampus guttulatus observed during the diving visual census carried out in the Mar
Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea), 2011-2013. (Photo credit: Francesco Tiralongo and Rossella Baldacconi).

Through three years of diving surveys, amounting to 69 hours underwater, researchers recorded 196 sightings. The seahorses showed a clear preference for artificial hard substrates, while only a few individuals were found in algal meadows. 

Despite environmental fluctuations and pollution, the population persists. In the Year of the Horse, we wish you the same resilience and strength!

Read more: Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 44(2): 99–104. https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2014.44.2.02

Fish is a traditional Lunar New Year dish, symbolising abundance and good fortune. While you won’t find a horsefish at the markets of Hainan, China, you can certainly spot a ponyfish.

Researchers have reported the first confirmed record of Aurigequula striata in Chinese waters, based on specimens collected at a fish market in Sanya, Hainan Island.

Aurigequula striata, left lateral view. (Photo credit: Jia-Jie Chen).

Live seafood markets have long proven to be unexpected hotspots for scientific discovery – just like the remarkable giant isopod Bathynomus vaderi described from market-purchased material in Vietnam.

As fresh as the seafood on display, this discovery was published in late January 2026 in ZooKeys. Newly collected specimens of Aurigequula fasciata enabled detailed morphological and genomic analyses, including the first complete mitochondrial genomes for both species and new phylogenetic insights into the family Leiognathidae.

Aurigequula fasciata, left lateral view. (Photo credit: Jia-Jie Chen).

Read more: ZooKeys 1267: 31–49. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1267.174380

Fittingly, we close with a horseshoe bat once feared lost. Its name bridges our equine theme with a traditional Chinese symbol: the word for bat (fú, 蝠) is a homophone for blessing (fú, 福), representing happiness and prosperity.

Hill’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli), listed as Critically Endangered and unseen since 1981, was rediscovered in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda, after 40 years.

Rhinolophus hilli, first observation of this species since 1981 in Nyungwe National Park. (Photo credit: Flanders, et al.).

Through cave surveys, forest capture efforts, and long-term acoustic monitoring, researchers confirmed the survival of this elusive species, bringing renewed hope for its conservation. 

Read more: Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e83546 https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e83546

As we gallop into 2026, may the Year of the Horse bring you strength, endurance, and a stable path toward success. On behalf of Pensoft, we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

Original sources:

Chen J-J, Zhong J-S, Zeng S, Yang D-Y, Liu P, Wang X-D, Zhang H-Y, Ye J-Q (2026) A new leiognathid record from China with complete mitogenomes and phylogenetic insights of two Aurigequula (Teleostei, Leiognathidae) species. ZooKeys 1267: 31-49. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1267.174380

Flanders J, Frick WF, Nziza J, Nsengimana O, Kaleme P, Dusabe MC, Ndikubwimana I, Twizeyimana I, Kibiwot S, Ntihemuka P, Cheng TL, Muvunyi R, Webala P (2022) Rediscovery of the critically endangered Hill`s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus hilli) and other new records of bat species in Rwanda. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e83546. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e83546

Heard J, Chen J-P, Wen CKC (2019) Citizen science yields first records of Hippocampus japapigu and Hippocampus denise (Syngnathidae) from Taiwan: A hotspot for pygmy seahorse diversity. ZooKeys 883: 83-90. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.883.39662

Short G, Claassens L, Smith R, De Brauwer M, Hamilton H, Stat M, Harasti D (2020) Hippocampus nalu, a new species of pygmy seahorse from South Africa, and the first record of a pygmy seahorse from the Indian Ocean (Teleostei, Syngnathidae). ZooKeys 934: 141-156. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.934.50924

Tiralongo F, Baldacconi R (2014) A conspicuous population of the long-snouted seahorse, Hippocampus guttulatus (Actinopterygii: Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae), in a highly polluted Mediterranean coastal lagoon. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 44(2): 99-104. https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2014.44.2.02

Facebook and Instagram gave away the presence of the ‘Japan pig’ seahorse in Taiwan

Japan pig seahorse (Hippocampus japapigu) in its natural habitat at Hejie, Kenting, Taiwan

Credit: Chao-Tsung Chen
License: CC-BY 4.0

While monitoring of cryptic and elusive tiny creatures, such as pygmy seahorses that measure only 13 to 27 mm, might be too costly and time-consuming for research teams and institutions, the underwater activity might be proving of particular interest to photography and diving enthusiasts.

At least, this is what comes across from the recent reports of five miniature species identified from Taiwanese waters by local citizen scientists and passed along via Facebook and Instagram. Amongst the findings, there are two species that had never before been reported from the country, including last year’s media sensation: the ‘Japan pig’, considered to only be found in the “Land of the Rising Sun”. The study, conducted by the team Mr. Joseph Heard,  Drs Jeng-Ping Chen and Colin Wen from Tunghai University and Taiwan Ocean Research Institute, is published in ZooKeys, the very same open-access journal that saw the description of the species in 2018.

The scientists note that pygmy seahorses are largely unknown species and even basic information regarding their habitats is largely inconsistent and based on unofficial reports. As monitoring of marine wildlife can be expensive and time-consuming, especially regarding its small and cryptic representatives, the researchers decided to use “Phone a Friend” lifeline. Scuba divers and underwater photographers were approached on social media to help investigate pygmy seahorse diversity in Taiwan.

Their call resulted in 259 social media items, including 75 photos of 78 miniature creatures from their natural habitats at five different locations. Identified as five separate species, their discovery ranks Taiwan as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots for pygmy seahorse, given that there are only seven species of pygmy seahorses out there.

A Japan pig seahorse (Hippocampus japapigu) in its natural habitat at Green Island, Taiwan.
Credit: Jolly Huang
License: CC-BY 4.0

Four of those were found at Green Island alone, a small volcanic Pacific island, measuring only 15 km2. 

Pygmy seahorse specimen collection from Taiwan for future examination is still undergoing.

Heard J, Chen J-P, Wen CKC (2019) Citizen science yields first records of Hippocampus japapigu and Hippocampus denise (Syngnathidae) from Taiwan: A hotspot for pygmy seahorse diversity. ZooKeys 883: 83-90. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.883.39662