Sea horse. Seahorse: interesting facts and photos. What are seahorses

Many have seen these marine life on TV or in aquariums, but not everyone realizes how they can surprise Interesting Facts about the seahorse. These beautiful representatives of fish amaze with their unique properties. However, in wild nature very hard to watch them. Moreover, the number seahorses V Lately decreased sharply due to the destruction of their habitats.

1. Seahorses are the only fish that have a neck.. Scientists have proven that Sea Horses- relatives of needle fish. True, during the evolution of their body has changed a lot. Unlike other fish, skates are located vertically in the water due to the fact that the swim bladder is distributed throughout the body. S-shape body allows skates to successfully hunt from cover. They freeze among algae or reefs, and when a tiny larva swims by, they capture it with a turn of their heads.
2. Skates can ride "on horseback" on fish. Due to their curved tail, seahorses can travel long distances. They grab the perch's fins and hold on until the fish swims into the algae. And the skates grab their pair with their tail and swim in an embrace.
3. The eyes of skates move independently of one another.. The organ of vision in a seahorse is similar to the eyes of a chameleon. One eye of these fish can look forward, and the other can see what is happening behind.
4. Disguise Skates. To avoid numerous enemies, seahorses allow the ability to change color depending on the location. Just like chameleons, seahorses match the color of their scales to the color of coral or algae, making them almost invisible.
5. Seahorses have a great appetite. They don't have teeth, they don't even have a stomach. In order not to die, these fish have to eat constantly. With their proboscises, skates draw in plankton, small larvae and crustaceans. And it happens so fast that it's hard to track.
6. Almost no one eats seahorses. These small fish can become the prey of other predators, perhaps by accident. They are almost entirely composed of bones, spines and scales, so there are few hunters for them, except perhaps rays and large crabs.
7. Seahorses are stressed. Stress is often a mortal danger for seahorses. These fish do well in clean, calm water. Strong pitching at sea leads to the exhaustion of their forces. And with a sudden change of place of residence, they may even die. Therefore, it is difficult to breed skates in aquariums; in an artificial environment, they do not take root well.
8. The female chooses the male. We can say that seahorses have a matriarchy. After all, it is the females who decide which of the males to choose as a spouse.
9. Seahorses perform mating dances . For several days, the female performs a kind of dance together with the alleged chosen one, rising to the surface of the water and sinking to the bottom, intertwining her tails. If the male falls behind the bride, she will most likely leave him and look for another, more profitable party.
10. Male seahorses are "pregnant". If the female has chosen a suitable male for herself, then she remains faithful to him until the end of her life. It is to the male that she entrusts the gestation of eggs and care for the offspring. The female transfers the eggs to a special bag on the body of the male. There, future skates grow for a month and a half. And then they are born full-fledged fish. One male can simultaneously produce from 5 to 1.5 thousand fry. However, male seahorses still cannot be called pregnant. After all, fry are not born in their body, but only remain until full maturation. This is the function of protecting future offspring.

    10

11. Skates are fragile, but tenacious. One out of a hundred born seahorse fry survives to full-fledged adults. This is a very high figure for fish. It is thanks to this indicator that seahorses have not died out so far.

    11
    

12. The horse is on the coat of arms of the city of Zaozersk. For several years in a row, a seahorse was depicted on the coat of arms of the Russian city of Zaozersk (Murmansk region). The image was supposed to symbolize sea ​​power Northern Fleet. But since seahorses don't live in the waters Barents Sea, the image of the skate was replaced with the image of a dolphin. It should be noted that seahorses are inhabitants of tropical and subtropical salt water bodies. And the largest seas of Russia are not included in this list.

    12

13. 30 types of skates are listed in the Red Book. And science knows only 32 species of these fish. There are several reasons for the extinction of seahorses. But almost all of them are related to human activities. In Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, skates are caught in order to dry and use as souvenirs. In oriental medicine, they are used to prepare medicines for asthma and skin diseases. In addition, the habitats of seahorses are polluted or completely destroyed by humans. And the plankton useful for skates is often eaten by jellyfish, which are beneficially affected by climate change.
14. Seahorses are a delicacy. A dish using the liver and eyes of seahorses is served in the most expensive restaurants in the world. These parts of skates are considered very tasty and healthy. The cost of a delicacy is an average of $ 800 per serving. And in China, fried skates are served on sticks.

    14
    

15. Skates live on Earth for 40 million years. Despite the fact that fossilized seahorses are rare, scientists have proven that these fish have existed for several tens of millions of years. They appeared at a time when tectonic shifts earth's crust shallows formed in the oceans and algae began to spread.

We hope you liked the selection with pictures - Interesting facts about the seahorse (15 photos) online good quality. Please leave your opinion in the comments! Every opinion matters to us.

The message about the seahorse can be used in preparation for the lesson. The story about the seahorse for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.

Seahorse Report

Seahorses belong to the class bony fish. In total there are about 50 species. Sizes of seahorses can be from 2 to 30 cm, depending on the species. A typical seahorse can live up to 5 years.

Their body shape is similar to a chess piece of a horse. Numerous long spikes and tape-like leathery outgrowths located on the body of the seahorse make it invisible among algae and inaccessible to predators.

The habitat of seahorses is tropical and subtropical seas.

Seahorse description

The head of these fish looks like a horse, but there are no scales. Their body is covered with hard bony plates. With its tail bent forward, the monkey-like seahorse clings to the stalks of sea grass. The eyes of the seahorse rotate in any direction, and if one eye looks to the right, the other at this time may stare at something to the left. This is very convenient for the skate, as it can simultaneously inspect the algae from all sides in search of food and follow the enemies, who themselves are not averse to having lunch with them.

The seahorse does not like to swim and spends most of its life clinging to algae with its tail. It swims slowly and only in search of food, during the wedding and escaping from enemies.

It is interesting to watch how the seahorse swims. A large swim bladder located in the head of the skate helps it to maintain an upright position. It does not move horizontally, but jerks up and down, moving diagonally in the direction of the target.

What do seahorses eat?

Seahorses lead a benthic lifestyle, feeding on plankton and small invertebrates.

seahorse breeding

Also, these animals unusual way breeding. When the eggs reach the desired stage, the females begin to compete with each other for male attention. Having achieved location, the female lays part of the eggs in a special bag, which is located on the male's abdomen. There, the eggs are fertilized. The male carries the eggs until the young are born. They can be from 2 to 1000 individuals. If many cubs are born, their father may even die. During the breeding season, the fry hatch every 4 weeks. Immediately after birth, they are left to their own devices.

Interesting facts about seahorses

• The horse is very bony, so it is only hunted by the large land crab, which can digest it.
• The eyes of seahorses are similar to those of chameleons and can move independently of each other;
• The seahorse is a master of disguise. Their scales can become "invisible" - merge with the environment;
• Their mouth works like a vacuum cleaner - they suck up plankton to eat.

We hope that the above information about the seahorse has helped you. And you can leave your report about the seahorse through the comment form.

The seahorse is a small-sized fish that is a member of the Needle family from the order Sticklebacks. Studies have shown that the seahorse is a highly modified needlefish. Today, the seahorse is a fairly rare creature. In this article you will find a description and photo of a seahorse, learn a lot of new and interesting things about this extraordinary creature.

The seahorse looks very unusual and the shape of the body resembles a chess piece of a horse. The seahorse fish has many long bony spines and various leathery outgrowths on its body. Thanks 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 twisted into a spiral. The seahorse looks diverse, because it can change the color of its scales.

The 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 swim bladder of a seahorse consists of an abdominal and a head part. The head bladder is larger than the abdominal one, which allows the seahorse to maintain an upright position when swimming.

Now the seahorse is becoming less and less common and is on the verge of extinction due to the rapid decline in numbers. There are many reasons for the extinction of the seahorse. The main one is the destruction by man of both the fish itself and its habitats. Off the coast of Australia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, skates are massively caught. The exotic appearance and bizarre body shape caused people to start making gift souvenirs from them. For beauty, they artificially bend their tail and give the body the shape of the letter "S", but in nature the skates do not look like that.

Another reason that contributes to the decline in the population of seahorses is that they are a delicacy. Gourmets highly appreciate the taste of these fish, especially the eyes and liver of seahorses. In a restaurant, the cost of one serving of such a dish costs $ 800.

In total, there are about 50 species of seahorses, 30 of which are already listed in the Red Book. Fortunately, seahorses are very prolific and can produce over a thousand fry at one time, which keeps the seahorses from disappearing. Seahorses are bred in captivity, but this fish is very whimsical to keep. One of the most extravagant seahorses is the rag-picker seahorse, which you can see in the photo below.

The seahorse lives in tropical and subtropical seas. Seahorse fish lives mainly at shallow depths or near the coast and leads a sedentary lifestyle. The seahorse lives in dense thickets of algae and other marine vegetation. It attaches with its flexible tail to plant stems or corals, remaining almost invisible due to its body covered with various outgrowths and spikes.

The seahorse fish changes body color to blend in completely with its surroundings. Thus, the seahorse successfully disguises itself not only from predators, but also during food production. 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, he attaches his tail to the fins. various fish and rests on them until the "free taxi" swims into the algae thickets.

What do seahorses eat?

Seahorses eat crustaceans and shrimps. Seahorses are very interesting eaters. The tubular stigma, like a pipette, draws prey into the mouth along with water. Seahorses eat quite a lot and hunt almost the whole day, taking short breaks for a couple of hours.

During the 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. After that, the seahorse sucks in water along with food.

How do seahorses reproduce?

Seahorses breed quite in an unusual way because the male carries the fry. It is not uncommon for seahorses to have monogamous pairs. The mating season of seahorses is an amazing sight. The couple, who are about to enter into a marriage union, are fastened with their tails and dance in the water. In the dance, the skates are pressed against each other, after which the male opens a special pocket in the abdominal region, into which the female throws eggs. In the future, the male bears offspring for a month.

Seahorses breed quite often and bring large offspring. A seahorse gives birth to one thousand or more fry at a time. Fry are born an absolute copy of adults, only very tiny. The babies that are born are left to their own devices. In nature, a seahorse lives for about 4-5 years.

If you liked this article and you like to read about animals, subscribe to site updates to receive the latest and interesting articles about animals first.

01/11/2017 at 21:34 Moscow time 6 345

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 inhabitants is that the male becomes the breeder. The process itself will be discussed in detail a little later.

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 his body, are also able to hide him in sea ​​depths from the eyes of predators and potential prey.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 mating season the male makes sounds resembling finger snaps so that her eyes fall 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.

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..

In the wild this interesting view fish can exist no more than 7 years.

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.

Seahorses have always amazed people with their unusual appearance. These amazing fish are one of the most ancient inhabitants of the seas and oceans. The first representatives of this species of fish appeared about forty million years ago. They got their name because of the similarity with the horse chess piece.

The structure of seahorses

The fish are small. The largest representative of this species has a body length of 30 centimeters and is considered a giant. Most seahorses have modest sizes 10-12 centimeters.

There are also quite miniature representatives of this species - dwarf fish. Their dimensions are only 13 millimeters. There are individuals smaller than 3 millimeters in size.

As mentioned above, the name of these fish is determined by their appearance. In general, it is not easy to understand that in front of you is a fish, and not an animal, at first glance, because a seahorse bears little resemblance to other inhabitants of the sea.

If in the vast majority of fish the main parts of the body are placed in a straight line located in a horizontal plane, then in seahorses the opposite is true. They have major body parts located in a vertical plane, and the head is completely at right angles to the body.

To date, scientists have described 32 species of these fish. All skates prefer to live in shallow water in warm seas. Since these fish are quite slow-moving, they most of all appreciate coral reefs and coastal bottom, overgrown with algae, because there you can hide from enemies.

Seahorses swim very unusually. Their body is kept vertically in the water during movement. This position is provided by two swim bladders. The first is located along the entire body, and the second in the head area.

Moreover, the second bladder is much lighter than the abdominal one, which provides the fish with vertical position in the water when moving. In the water column, the fish move due to the wave-like movements of the dorsal and pectoral fins. The oscillation frequency of the fins is seventy beats per minute.

Seahorses differ from most fish in that they do not have scales. Their body cover the bone plates, united in belts. Such protection is quite heavy, but this weight does not in the least prevent the fish from floating freely in the water.

In addition, bone plates covered with spines serve as good protection. Their strength is so great that it is very difficult for a person to break even the dried shell of a skate with his hands.

Despite the fact that the head of the seahorse is located at an angle of 90⁰ to the body, the fish can only move it in a vertical plane. In the horizontal plane, head movements are impossible. However, this does not create problems with the review.

The fact is that in this fish the eyes are not connected to each other. The horse can look with his eyes in different directions at the same time, so he is always aware of changes in the environment.

The tail of a seahorse is very unusual. He twisted and very flexible. With its help, fish cling to corals and algae when hiding.

At first glance, it seems that seahorses were not supposed to survive in harsh sea conditions: they slow and defenseless. In fact, the fish flourished until a certain time. In this they were helped by the ability to mimicry.

Evolutionary processes have led to the fact that seahorses are easily merge with the surrounding area. At the same time, they can change the color of their body both completely and partially. This is quite enough to marine predators could not notice the skates if they hid.

By the way, these marine inhabitants use the ability to change the color of their body in marriage games. With the help of "color music" of the body, males attract females.

Most people believe that these fish feed on vegetation. This is an erroneous opinion. In fact, these marine fish, for all their seeming harmlessness and inactivity, are notorious predators. The basis of their diet is plankton. Artemia shrimp and shrimp is their favorite treat.

If you carefully consider the elongated snout of the skate, you can see that it ends with a mouth that acts like a pipette. As soon as the fish notices the prey, it turns its mouth towards it and puffs out its cheeks. In fact, the fish sucks its prey.

It is worth noting that these sea ​​fish pretty voracious. They can hunt for 10 hours straight. During this time they destroy up to 3500 crustaceans. And this is with a stigma length of no more than 1 millimeter.

Skate breeding

Seahorses are monogamous. If a couple is formed, it will not break up until the death of one of the partners, which is not uncommon in the living world. What's really amazing is that birth of offspring by males and not females.

It happens in the following way. During love games the female, using a special papilla, introduces eggs into the hatching bag of the male. This is where fertilization takes place. Then, males carry offspring for 20, and sometimes 40 days.

After this period, already grown fry are born. The offspring are very similar to their parents, but the body of the fry transparent and colorless.

It is noteworthy that males continue to take care of the offspring for some time after birth, which, however, very quickly becomes independent.

Keeping seahorses in an aquarium

You should know that these fish cannot be kept in a regular aquarium. Skates need to create special conditions for survival:

Do not forget that these fish are quite dirty, so the water in the aquarium must be well filtered..

As you remember, skates in nature like to hide from predators in algae and coral reefs. So, you need to create similar conditions for them in the aquarium. You can use the following elements for this:

• artificial corals.
• Seaweed.
• Artificial grottoes.
• Various stones.

An important requirement is that all elements should not have sharp edges that can damage the skates.

Feeding Requirements

Since in nature these fish feed on crustaceans and shrimp, you will have to buy frozen Mysis shrimp for your pets. Feed the skates in the aquarium should be at least twice a day. Once a week, you can pamper them with live food:

• krill;
• brine shrimp;
• live shrimp.

Seahorses cannot compete for food with aggressive fish. Therefore, the choice of comrades for them is limited. Mainly snails different types : astrea, turbo, nerite, troshus, etc. You can also add a blue hermit crab to them.

In conclusion, we will give one piece of advice: get all the information you have about these marine life before starting your first pack.