Seahorses seem to be a big favourite for divers and non-divers alike, we actually know surprisingly little about them. Besides the fact that their males get pregnant, most divers don’t know that much about them. So here a few fun things you never knew about seahorses and will make you appreciate them even more next time you encounter them during your dives.
My name is Maarten, I am a marine biologist, dive instructor, and biology teacher. I come from Belgium, but have been traveling the world as a dive instructor and marine biology researcher for nearly 10 years. From a very young age I have been fascinated by the ocean and the creatures that live in it. During my dive travels I developed a passion for the small, camouflaged, or outright weird critters that can be found below the surface. I currently live in Australia, where I do research on the species important for muck diving, such as frogfishes and seahorses. These animals are not only amazing examples of how crazy evolution can get, but are often important for dive tourism and the aquarium trade. The majority of tropical marine biology research focuses on charismatic or large species such as sharks, turtles and dolphins. Many of the less known, small or camouflaged species are equally important, but are barely studied at all. My work will hopefully change some of that and show the world that weird is beautiful too!