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Kingdom: Animals

Most of all, a seahorse looks like a chess piece of a horse. A bizarre, but clearly horse-like muzzle on a long neck, passing into the chest, and instead of a stand, a rather long, ring-shaped tail. Having clung to the branches of plants with their tails, the skates stick out in the thickets, like candles or funny toys on a New Year tree.


Everything about skating is amazing. Look at the head - it is attached at almost 90 degrees to the body and never moves to the right or left. Such " design flaw"complete eyes that can look simultaneously in different directions and rotate independently of each other in the same way as in chameleons. Like the latter, seahorses can change their color to match the tone and color of aquatic plants.



Skates swim, if it can be called swimming, in an upright position with their heads slightly tilted down with the help of wave-like movements of the dorsal fin, located just above the tail, and strong strokes of the pectoral fins.


With their habits, these fish do not at all resemble frisky horses. Seahorses lead a sedentary lifestyle. Usually they are attached with flexible tails to the stems of plants and change the color of the body, completely merging with the background. Thus, they simultaneously protect themselves from predators and camouflage themselves while hunting.



Among fish, the seahorse is known for being monogamous; for maintaining the fidelity of partners until the end of life. Their courtship from the breeding season is very touching. The male and female of the same pair meet and dance together. This dance includes ritual arm-in-arm walks (tails intertwined) and amazingly graceful whirling among the seaweed, they perform peculiar dances around their partners and partners and accompany themselves with clicking sounds, the pace of which can change.



But the most amazing feature of skates is the way they reproduce. Males have a special pouch on their abdomen. The female, using the ovipositor, introduces the eggs into the male's pouch, where they are fertilized and develop. There is no more salt in the liquid filling the pockets than in the caviar itself. But as the caviar develops, it becomes saltier in the pockets. This is necessary in order to gradually prepare the fry for life in sea ​​water. And so little fish live, like kangaroos, for two whole months in a bag on their papa's belly.



When the development of the larvae is over, the father begins to bend back and forth, helping the children to get out of the inner folds of the bag, and squeezes the babies into the water in batches. Large males may have several hundred of them. Tiny fish, no more than 6 millimeters long, once in the wild, first of all try to catch on to something with their thin tails, but most often they grab each other and - grandfather for a turnip, grandmother for grandfather - remain to hang a whole garland for a couple of days, but while not forgetting to hunt.



Seahorses are unusually voracious. They catch everything living that can fit in their mouth. The tubular snout acts like a pipette: when the cheeks of the fish swell sharply, the prey is sharply drawn into the mouth from a distance of 4 cm. Young seahorses are able to eat up to 10 hours a day and during this time eat up to 3600 small brine shrimp.



In nature, there are only a few natural enemies usually well camouflaged seahorses, these are: shrimp, crab, clown fish and tuna. In addition, they are often found undigested in the stomachs of dolphins. And yet, the most serious enemies of these creatures are people: seahorses are classified as endangered marine species.



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IN sea ​​depths lives many unusual and interesting creatures, among which special attention deserve seahorses.

Seahorses, or scientifically hippocampuses, are small bony fish of the sea piper family. Today there are about 30 species that differ in size and appearance. "Growth" ranges from 2 to 30 centimeters, and the colors are very diverse.

The skates do not have scales, but they are protected by a hard bone shell. Only a land crab can bite through and digest such “clothes”, therefore skates usually do not arouse interest in underwater predators, and they hide in such a way that any needle in a haystack will envy.

Another interesting feature of skates in the eyes: like a chameleon, they can move independently of each other.

How is the fish in the water? No, it's not about them.

Unlike other inhabitants of the sea, skates swim in an upright position, this is possible due to the presence of a large longitudinal swim bladder. By the way, they are very inept swimmers. A small dorsal fin makes fairly fast movements, but this does not give much speed, and the pectoral fins serve mainly as rudders. Most of the time, the skate hangs motionless in the water, catching the algae with its tail.

Every day is stress

Seahorses live in tropical and subtropical seas, prefer transparent calm water. The greatest danger for them is a strong pitching, which can sometimes lead to complete exhaustion. Seahorses are generally very susceptible to stress. In an unfamiliar environment, they do not get along well, even if there is enough food, in addition, the loss of a partner can be the cause of death.

There is not much food

At seahorse primitive digestive system, there are no teeth or a stomach, therefore, in order not to die of hunger, the creature has to constantly eat. According to the way of feeding, skates are predators. When it's time to eat (almost always), they cling to algae with their tails and, like vacuum cleaners, suck up the surrounding water, which contains plankton.

Unusual family

Family relations among skates are also very peculiar. The second half is always chosen by the female. When she sees a suitable candidate, she invites him to dance. Several times the steam rises to the surface and falls again. the main task male - to be hardy and keep up with a girlfriend. If he slows down, the capricious lady will immediately find herself another gentleman, but if the test is passed, the couple proceeds to mate.

Seahorses are monogamous, meaning they choose a mate for life and even sometimes swim with their tails tied together. The male bears the offspring, and by the way, these are the only creatures on the planet who have a “male pregnancy”.

The mating dance can last about 8 hours. In the process, the female lays the eggs in a special bag on the male's abdomen. It is there that miniature seahorses will form for the next 50 days.

From 5 to 1500 cubs will be born, only 1 out of 100 will live to adulthood. It seems not enough, but this figure is actually one of the highest among fish.

Why are seahorses dying out?

Seahorses are small peaceful fish that have suffered greatly because of their bright and unusual appearance. People catch them for various purposes: for making gifts, souvenirs, or for preparing an expensive exotic dish that costs about $ 800 per serving. In Asia, dried seahorses are used to make medicines. 30 species out of 32 existing are listed in the Red Book.

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01/11/2017 at 21:34 Moscow time 6 284

The seahorse is a fish that is unique in nature and has interesting shape torso.

At first glance, it is very similar to one of the most recognizable chess pieces.

There are more than 50 species of these creatures in the world, but only thirty-two species have been studied in detail.

In addition, anthropologists have made sensational conclusions based on the found prehistoric fossilized remains, they say that in the past it is a specifically modified needle fish.

An interesting ability of these marine life thing is the male becomes the breeder. The process itself will be discussed in detail a little later.

Appearance

The appearance and body structure of this species of fish are able to adapt to any environment a habitat. Once in the territory that strongly betrays her appearance, she immediately changes the appearance of her color in a few minutes like a chameleon and merges with the underwater environment.





His body is endowed with many thorns. different size, ribbon-like leathery outgrowths that are on its body, are also able to hide it in the depths of the sea from the eyes of a predator and potential victims.

There are at least two popular types of these wonderful creatures. The dwarf skate has a body length not exceeding 2.5 cm. It lives in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Malayan species of skates is quite larger than its aforementioned counterpart, its body length can reach up to 25 centimeters.

The small mobility of this fish is provided by its eyes, which have a remarkable ability. Eyeballs are able to move independently of each other, thereby increasing horizons.

Range and habitat

This species is common in places with subtropical climate from the coast of Indonesia to Australia. It also lives along the Atlantic coast of Europe, North America and Africa. Little-studied species live in the waters Pacific Ocean closer to the US coast.

Habitat

Overgrown sea shallow water is an ideal habitat for this fish. It also actively inhabits swampy or sandy water areas.

Lifestyle

This fish leads a predominantly solitary and sedentary lifestyle, so as not to drift during high tide and low tide, it clings to algae or corals with its flexible and powerful tail.

It is worth noting that most of their lives they are in shallow water, in a slight current with a water temperature of at least +25. The current carries great amount plankton for food. Movement in water is carried out with the help of a vertebral fin, which performs more than 30 strokes in one second.

Nutrition

His diet is very poor, daily menu includes:

  • plankton;
  • small fish
  • crustaceans;
  • shrimps;

He himself becomes a victim of enemies very rarely, as he is a master of disguises. Thanks to this, the victim, not noticing the danger, approaches him herself, having a tubular snout, the skate is able to suck it in at a distance of three centimeters.

Enemies

Due to its anatomical structure of the skeleton, not every enemy is able to digest its many small, but very strong bones.

Land crab - is the single most dangerous and ruthless enemy for this species of fish.

reproduction

The reverse distribution of roles between male and female makes this species even more mysterious. The breeding season in tropical warm waters can be all year round, in the cold - in spring and summer.

During the mating season, the male makes sounds resembling finger snaps so that her gaze falls on him. After a while, the female reciprocates and approaches him. Taking this opportunity, we want to invite you to listen to our huge collection of sounds from the category:.

In a special pocket, located under the tail of the male, the female throws in a huge amount of fertilized eggs, providing him with further care for future offspring, and she herself disappears away to mate with other males.

The term for the development of caviar may be different, this is due to the temperature of the water. IN warm water it is no more than 14 days, and in the cold 28 days. To feed the fry, the male releases a special liquid into his bag.

When the offspring matures, the male releases the fry already able to swim into the wild. Their number depends on the species, the minimum of them can be 50, the maximum is more than 1000 individuals.

Many people wonder: why is the seahorse in an upright position? We decided to investigate and answer this interesting question. .

The reason is as follows; the stabilizing swim bladder of this fish is located along the entire body and is divided by a septum that separates the upper body from the rest.

As a result, the head bladder is larger than the abdominal one, it is this arrangement of the bladder that provides the fish with a vertical position.

Red Book

Irreparable damage to the taxon is caused by fishing trawls that destroy the seabed along with the environment. natural habitat marine organism.



Currently, all types of skates are listed in the Red Book and are strictly protected by law. Reasons for this abound, for example; while you are reading this post, illegal fishing for this exotic creature is underway off the coast of Malaysia. In these countries, it is a delicacy and is very popular among tourists..

Lifespan

IN wild nature this interesting view fish can exist no more than 7 years.

Related species

To date, the closest relative of our hero is the stickleback fish.

  1. Some species of marine organisms are threatened with extinction.
  2. Floats in an upright position.
  3. Souvenirs depicting this fish are actively purchased by tourists in East Asia.
  4. The liver and eyes of this fish are considered a delicacy; in fish restaurants, a serving of this dish can cost up to $1,000.
  5. The male himself is engaged in the withdrawal of offspring.

Don't crucian, don't perch,
Has a long neck
Who is he? Guess soon!
Well, of course, horse!

Seahorse (from lat. Hippocampus) a small cute marine fish of an unusual shape from the genus bony fish(family of marine needles) of the needle-shaped order. Looking at this fish, the chess piece of a horse immediately comes to mind. Long neck – distinguishing feature skate. If you disassemble the horse into parts of the body, then its head resembles a horse's, the tail is a monkey, the eyes are from a chameleon, and the outer integuments resemble those of insects. Unusual structure the tail allows the seahorse to cling to seaweed and coral and hide in them, sensing danger. The ability to mimic (camouflage) makes the seahorse almost invulnerable. The seahorse feeds on plankton. Young skates are quite voracious and can eat for 10 hours in a row, eating up to three thousand crustaceans and shrimps. The vertical position of the seahorse relative to the water is its distinguishing feature.

It is interesting that the seahorse is a caring father and faithful spouse. The heavy burden of motherhood falls on the shoulders of the male. The seahorse independently bears the cub in a special bag, which is located in the lower part of the abdomen of the seahorse. Right there at the time mating games the female introduces eggs. If the female dies, the male for a long time remains faithful to the partner and vice versa, if the male dies, the female remains faithful to the male for up to 4 weeks.

Dimensions

The size of a seahorse varies from two to three centimeters to 30. Thirty centimeters is the size of a giant seahorse. The average size is 10 or 12 centimeters. The smallest representatives - pygmy seahorses have about 13 or even 3 millimeters. With a size of 13 centimeters, the weight of a seahorse is about 10 grams.

A few more photos with seahorses.