The seahorse looks very unusual and the shape of its body resembles a chess piece of a horse. The seahorse has many long bony spines and various leathery growths on its body. Due to this body structure, the seahorse looks invisible among the algae and remains inaccessible to predators. The seahorse looks amazing, it has small fins, its eyes rotate independently of each other, and its tail is curled in a spiral. The seahorse looks diverse, because it can change the coloration of its scales. Seahorse looks small, its size depends on the species and varies from 4 to 25 cm. In the water, the seahorse swims vertically, unlike other fish. This is due to the fact that the seahorse's swim bladder consists of an abdominal part and a head part. The head bladder is larger than the abdominal bladder, which allows the seahorse to maintain an upright position when swimming.
Today, the seahorse is found less and less frequently and is on the verge of extinction due to a rapid decline in numbers. There are many reasons for the disappearance of the seahorse. The main one is human destruction of both the fish and its habitats. Off the coast of Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines seahorses are caught on a mass scale. The exotic appearance and bizarre shape of the body became the reason that people began to make gift souvenirs of them. For beauty, they artificially curve their tails and give their bodies an "S" shape, but skates don't look like that in nature. Another reason that contributes to the declining seahorse population is that they are a delicacy. Foodies appreciate the taste of these fish, especially the eyes and liver of seahorses. In a restaurant, the cost per serving of such a dish is $800. There are about 50 species of seahorses in all, 30 of which are already in the Red Book. Fortunately, seahorses are very prolific and can produce more than a thousand fry at a time, which keeps the seahorses from disappearing. Seahorses are bred in captivity, but this fish is very finicky to keep. One of the most extravagant seahorses is the shaggy seahorse, which you can see below in the photo. Where does the seahorse live? The seahorse lives in tropical and subtropical seas. The seahorse fish lives mostly in shallow water or near the shore and leads a sedentary lifestyle.
The seahorse lives in dense thickets of algae and other marine vegetation. He attaches his flexible tail to the stems of plants or corals, remaining virtually invisible because of his body, covered with various growths and spikes. Seahorse fish changes its body coloration in order to fully blend in with its surroundings. In this way the seahorse successfully camouflages itself not only from predators, but also during food extraction. The seahorse is very bony, so few people want to eat it. The main hunter of the seahorse is the large land crab. The seahorse can travel long distances. To do this, it attaches its tail to the fins of various fish and holds on to them until the "free cab" swims into the algae thickets. What do seahorses eat? Seahorses eat crustaceans and shrimp.
Seahorses have a very interesting diet. The tubular snout is like a pipette that pulls prey into its mouth along with the water. Seahorses eat quite a lot and practically the whole day are engaged in hunting, taking small breaks for a couple of hours. In a day seahorses eat about 3 thousand planktonic crustaceans. But seahorses eat almost any food, as long as it does not exceed the size of the mouth. The seahorse fish is a hunter. With its flexible tail the seahorse clings to algae and remains motionless until the prey is in the required proximity to the head. Then the seahorse sucks up the water together with the food. How do seahorses reproduce? Seahorses reproduce in a rather unusual way, because in them, the fry are carried by the male. Seahorses often have monogamous pairs. The mating period of seahorses is an amazing sight. The pair, which is about to enter into a mating union, fastens their tails and dances in the water. As they dance, the seahorses press against each other, after which the male opens a special pocket in his abdomen, into which the female drops the eggs. The male then nurtures the offspring for a month. Seahorses breed quite often and produce large offspring. The seahorse gives birth to one thousand or more fry at a time. The fry are born an absolute copy of the adults, only very tiny. The born babies are left to themselves. In nature, the seahorse lives about 4-5 years.
You must be logged in to post a comment.