Seahorse

Seahorse

I love  the ocean and most of the animals in it. The seahorse is definitely on my top sea animals favorite list. They are fascinating in their unique courtship, as the female inserts the eggs into the male and he has a true pregnancy and carries the babies. They can have as many as 2,000 babies. There are 45 species of Seahorse that marine biologist have identified. Their habitats include coral reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds, and estuaries. They maintain a vertical position when swimming, and use their soft-rayed dorsal fin to propel themselves forward. Their pectoral fins, located on the side of their heads, are used to maneuver. Some scientists oppose that approximately 25 million years ago, the seahorse started evolving to this upright position shortly after the expansion of sea grasses in the western Pacific.  To avoid enemies and abduct unsuspecting prey, seahorse use coral reef and  plants to camouflage themselves. Seahorse are unique in the fact they have an exo-skeleton. Their bodies are made of hard, external, bony plates that are fused together with fleshy covering. Unlike fish who have scales.


 Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Actinopterygii

Order: Syngnathiformes

Family: Syngnathidae

Genus: Hippocampus comes from Greek hippokampos, hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning "sea monster"

Diet: Carnivore

Life Span: One to Four Years

        Quick Fun Fact:

• Seahorse is a fish  and has gills to breath
• Seahorse can change color and hide into the background
• Seahorse do NOT have teeth or stomach. They have to eat almost constantly, as food moves through the digestive system quickly
• To move up and down, they adjust the volume air in their swim bladders
• Monogamous
• Slowest swimmer in the sea

We drew our seahorses:

E.B. left M.B. on right 

Mine

Here is a great video: