Scientists examining the waters of the northern Pacific were pleasantly surprised by the discovery of an entirely new species of crowned seahorse. Found near Japan and the Korean Peninsula, the new species has been appropriately (although perhaps unimaginatively) named “The Korean seahorse” or Hippocampus haema. Indeed, the word “haema” means “seahorse” in Korean, so the new arrival could also conceivably be called the “seahorse seahorse.”

Peacefully bobbing and drifting in floating clumps of sargasso and weeds in shallow sandy waters, the little fish measures between 2 to 4 inches from snout to tail-tip. It has 10 body segments plus 35-38 tail segments, double gill-openings and a high, backwards-swept crown, and comes in an array of colours from black and white to orange, yellow, magenta and brown. Although it sports a crown in the same manner as other crowned seahorses, it also has a pattern of spines that’s unique to the species.