The discovery of live tyro seahorses in the north of Mauritius this year has left its mark on the community of divers, marine biologists and sea lovers. Of this extremely rare species, only a single dead specimen had been seen in the Seychelles in the 90s, so much so that scientists thought it was extinct.
Dominique Bellier
In November 2022, Mauritian diver Visham Bungsee encountered seahorses for the first time in his life during a dive with his clients. Delighted, he shared his photographs and information on the Internet, arousing the curiosity of veterinary surgeon and keen diver Jill Fritz, who established contact with Odysseo. Since its creation in 2021, the oceanarium has partnered with the international organization Project Seahorse, to survey and identify seahorses in Mauritian waters…
The experts are not hiding their enthusiasm and confirm that this is an exceptional discovery. These tyro seahorses were last seen in April, before Hurricane Freddy turned their habitat upside down. The Odysseo scientific team was due to resume its dives at the end of August to observe them and possibly collect a few individuals to study them with a view to better protecting them. The most widespread species in our waters, the golden seahorse (Kuda) and the Histrix seahorse, are considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A mythical animal among the Greeks, these little sea horses fascinate by the elegance of their vertical movements, by their tubular mouth that sucks in plankton and tiny crustaceans, and by a mode of reproduction in which the male carries the eggs for three weeks, before giving birth to perfect little seahorses just a few millimeters long…
