A long-snouted seahorse was found on 15th October 2006 in the Medina estuary, near the Folly Lake, when a local fisherman inspected his nets.

A seahorse features on the Isle of Wight College logo, and on the former Isle of Wight County Council coat of arms, but authenticated records are few and far between.

In 1909, they were described by local naturalist Percy Wadham as ?rare off Hampshire?. In the last few years there have been three live records of the long-snouted seahorse and one dead short-snouted seahorse from Island waters and beaches.

Seahorses are associated with seagrass beds, which are found in the Solent along the northern coast of the Island and along the Hampshire coastline. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust is currently organising the Solent Seagrass Project to investigate this habitat. It is important as a nursery ground for juvenile fish and crustaceans like shrimps and crabs as well as being a winter feeding ground for brent geese.