Seahorse
Hippocampus sp.
Where is it found?
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Marine and brackish water
Diet and foraging method
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Suck prey up using their elongated snout
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Key adaptations
Since they are such poor swimmers, seahorses often wrap their specially adapted tail around vegetation, coral, and other stationary objects. Combined with their ability to stay camouflaged and eyes that can move independently to give them binocular vision, they are well adapted for predator avoidance. Seahorses have no teeth, but instead have a long slender snout which they use to suck up prey.
Social organisation and mating system
Solitary
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Monogamous or polygynandrous
Did you know that...?
Seahorse males carry the eggs in a special brooding pouch, and incubates them until they are fully formed, minature adults ready to be released. During the male's pregnancy, the female visits him every morning to dance and entwine their tails.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Hippocampus kuda (Estuary seahorse)" by Nhobgood Nick Hobgood - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_kuda_(Estuary_seahorse).jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_kuda_(Estuary_seahorse).jpg
"Hippocampus hystrix (Spiny seahorse)" by Nhobgood Nick Hobgood - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_hystrix_(Spiny_seahorse).jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_hystrix_(Spiny_seahorse).jpg
"Hippocampus whitei 1" by Richard Ling - Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_whitei_1.jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_whitei_1.jpg
"Hippocampus kuda (Estuary seahorse)" by Nhobgood Nick Hobgood - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_kuda_(Estuary_seahorse).jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_kuda_(Estuary_seahorse).jpg
"Hippocampus hystrix (Spiny seahorse)" by Nhobgood Nick Hobgood - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_hystrix_(Spiny_seahorse).jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_hystrix_(Spiny_seahorse).jpg
"Hippocampus whitei 1" by Richard Ling - Flickr. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hippocampus_whitei_1.jpg#/media/File:Hippocampus_whitei_1.jpg
