Dr Richard Smith, a British marine conservationist, underwater photographer and author, aspires to promote an appreciation for the ocean’s inhabitants and raise awareness of marine conservation issues through his award-winning images. A marine biologist by training, Richard’s pioneering research on the biology and conservation of pygmy seahorses, led to the first PhD on these enigmatic fishes. Richard is a member of the IUCN Seahorse, Pipefish and Seadragon Specialist Group working to conserve these fascinating fishes. He has named the two most recent pygmy seahorse discoveries from Japan, Hippocampus japapigu, and South Africa, H. nalu – the latter being the first in the Indian Ocean and, like all pygmy seahorses, is the size of a grain of rice. He is a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society and The Linnean Society of London. Richard’s bestselling book, ‘The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs’ explores the wealth of coral reef biodiversity through his stories of adventure, discovery and many photographs. www.OceanRealmImages.com