Tiny Seahorse Makes Epic Atlantic Voyage

Hippocampus erectus, or line seahorse, is commonly found along the Atlantic and Caribbean coasts of the Americas.

A diminutive marine creature that has only tiny fins and a small tail with which to move around somehow made its way from off the Atlantic or Caribbean coasts of North, Central or South America to the Azores, 3,000 miles away.

Writing in the Journal of Fish Biology, British and Portuguese researchers suggest that the seahorse may have made such an epic journey by using its prehensile tail to hitch a ride on a raft of floating seagrass.

There are over 50 species of seahorse worldwide, mainly found in shallow tropical and temperate waters.

But one found by a fisherman on the isolated Azores archipelago seemed different.

So the researchers did a DNA analysis that revealed the visitor had a genetic makeup almost identical to that of seahorses that live in the Americas.

While it is possible the creature was dumped into the ocean by someone who had kept it in an aquarium, or arrived in ship ballast, the researchers believe it most likely hitched a ride across the ocean on a raft of seagrass.

Photo: Stock