Example 12d

All images copyright protected, © Doug Segar and Elaine Stamman Segar.

The tiny pygmy seahorse lives on large coral fans such as the one in this photograph, and it can move easily from one side of the fan to the other. Generally, there are only a small number of individuals on each fan. How difficult do you think it would be to find them and photograph them? To make it more difficult, they are generally found only on fans located at 25 m or below, a depth at which a diver's time must be limited to just a few minutes to avoid decompression sickness. It takes patience, skill and experience to be able to photograph and study such animals.