Seahorse
The Seahorse is a small and delightful fish unlike any other. It’s physical appearance sets it apart from other marine creatures. With its horselike head and neck, prehensile tail and upright swimming posture, the Seahorse is truly remarkable.
There are 46 known species of Seahorse, and they are all very small in size- anywhere from 1/2” to 14 “. Although they are indeed fish, they don’t have scales, but rather they have a thin skin that is stretched over a series of bony plates that ring their body in vertical fashion. Unlike most fish that swim horizontally, seahorses swim upright in a vertical position, propelled by a single dorsal fin on their back and very tiny pectoral fins. They are by far the slowest swimmers amongst all fish, and make use of their tail by coiling it around sea grass or coral, anchoring themselves that way in order to capture tiny shrimp and larval fish with their long trumpet-like snouts. Seahorses do not have stomachs, and so they must eat constantly in order to survive.
And as if the Seahorse wasn’t amazing enough, what is truly remarkable about this fish is that the male carries and incubates the female’s eggs in a pouch at the front of its body. They engage in a very long and complex mating ritual that lasts for days, and in sealing the deal, the female deposits her eggs in the male’s brood pouch, where they remain for two to four weeks until being released fully formed into the open water. Up to 2,500 young can be born at a single time, and although many do not survive into adulthood, seahorses in general are not considered an endangered species.
There are 46 known species of Seahorse, and they are all very small in size- anywhere from 1/2” to 14 “. Although they are indeed fish, they don’t have scales, but rather they have a thin skin that is stretched over a series of bony plates that ring their body in vertical fashion. Unlike most fish that swim horizontally, seahorses swim upright in a vertical position, propelled by a single dorsal fin on their back and very tiny pectoral fins. They are by far the slowest swimmers amongst all fish, and make use of their tail by coiling it around sea grass or coral, anchoring themselves that way in order to capture tiny shrimp and larval fish with their long trumpet-like snouts. Seahorses do not have stomachs, and so they must eat constantly in order to survive.
And as if the Seahorse wasn’t amazing enough, what is truly remarkable about this fish is that the male carries and incubates the female’s eggs in a pouch at the front of its body. They engage in a very long and complex mating ritual that lasts for days, and in sealing the deal, the female deposits her eggs in the male’s brood pouch, where they remain for two to four weeks until being released fully formed into the open water. Up to 2,500 young can be born at a single time, and although many do not survive into adulthood, seahorses in general are not considered an endangered species.