The secret world of pygmy seahorses, where males give birth – photo essay

In his new book, marine biologist and photographer Richard Smith reveals the tiny, magical world of pygmy seahorses, one of the most elusive fish on the planet

After spending hundreds of hours observing pygmy seahorses for my doctorate, I knew exactly when Tom, a Denise's pygmy seahorse in Sulawesi, Indonesia, would give birth. He swam with great resolve (1) from where he slept each night with his partner, Josephine, against the current, to the edge of the gorgonian seafan (a type of coral) that the two inhabited.

He never faltered. At the edge of the coral, the current was at its strongest, offering the greatest chance of sweeping his offspring out to the relative safety of the open ocean.