Updated 12 May 2003, 15.48

			Fact File
	Seahorses
		They are actually fish
		There are now 33 known species
		They've existed for about 40 million years
		Males have the babies, not females

Scientists knew about the orange sea creature already, but they'd always assumed they were looking at the babies of a bigger type of seahorse.

Now they've realised the seahorses are actually adults and are fully grown.

The tiny creature, officially called Hippocampus denise, lives in and around coral in the western Pacific Ocean.

It's very good at camouflaging itself, which is why it may have been able to stay so small for so long, scientists reckon.

At risk

But the fragile creatures may well be at risk from divers and heavy trawling gear that can flatten their coral homes, they said.

Because they're so tiny, divers could hurt them by mistake.

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