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Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving - Pygmy Pipehorses of Bare Island
Bare Island is the most amazing dive location. There are at least 10 different dives that can be done with only small sections being repeated (on the way to or from the main aim of the dive). The marine life is astounding considering how we have treated Botany Bay since Lieutenant James Cook, RN, first entered the Bay in April 1770 and his compatriate, Captain Arthur Phillip, RN, bought the First Fleet into the same Bay in 1788.
Bare Island has some many different types of marine life that help make it so special. One of these are the Sydney pygmy pipehorse, Idiotropiscis lumnitzeri. The pipehorses are many different colours, white, red, red and white and brown. As far as I can tell, they are all the same species.
Their sizes range from about 8 mm (top right four photos - note the tip of my finger in two photos) to about 40 mm. While the numbers dropped off during the dredging work carried out 2009 to 2010, the numbers picked up again after early 2011. However, the huge rains of early and mid-2022 again caused numbers to crash. They came back a bit in 2023 but crashed again for an unknown reason in mid-2025. By early 2026 the numbers had started to rise.
The pygmy pipehorses are found in a number of different locations:
All the photographs below were taken at Bare Island.
SUMMARY
For more information about the dives, go to the Bare Island Dives index.
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