Hey guys after
long time we apology for that, let’s get Started in deep sea there are lots of amazing
animals like largest animal which we see in earlier blog and there are so many amazing
and beautiful animals.
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii Order: Syngnathiformes
Family: Syngnathidae Subfamily: Hippocampinae
Genus: Hippocampus
The Latin name for
seahorse is Hippocampus which means “Horse Caterpillar”. Seahorse is the name given to 54 species of
small marine fishes in the genus Hippocampus.
"Hippocampus" comes
from the Ancient Greek word hippos meaning "horse" and kampos meaning "sea monster". The word
"seahorse" can also be written as two separate words (sea horse), or
hyphenated (sea-horse). Having a head and neck suggestive of a horse, seahorses
also feature segmented bony armour, an upright posture and a curled prehensile
tail.
Seahorses are mainly
found in shallow tropical and temperate waters throughout the world, from about
45°S to 45°N and live in sheltered areas
such as seagrass beds, estuaries, coral reefs, or mangroves. Four species are
found in Pacific waters from North America to South America. In the Atlantic,
H. erectus ranges from Nova Scotia to Uruguay. H. zosterae, known as the dwarf
seahorse, is found in the Bahamas.
Seahorses range in size from 1.5 to
35.5 cm .They are named for their equine appearance with bent necks and long
snouted heads followed by their distinctive trunk and tail.
Although they are
bony fish, they do not have scales, but rather thin skin stretched over a
series of bony plates, which are arranged in rings throughout their bodies.
Each species has a distinct number of rings. Seahorses swim upright, another
characteristic not shared by their close pipefish relatives, which swim
horizontally. Razorfish are the only other fish that swim vertically. They swim
upright propelling themselves by using the dorsal fin. The pectoral fins
located on either side of the head are used for maneuvering. They lack the
caudal fin typical of fishes. Their prehensile tail can only be unlocked in the
most extreme conditions. They are adept at camouflage with the ability to grow
and reabsorb spiny appendages depending on their habitat.
Seahorses
eat small crustacea such as Mysis Shrimp. An adult eats 30-50 times a day.
Seahorse fry (baby seahorses) eat a staggering 3000 pieces of food per day.
The male seahorse
is equipped with a pouch on the ventral, or front-facing, side of the tail.
When mating, the female seahorse deposits up to 1,500 eggs in the male's pouch.
The male carries the eggs for 9 to 45 days until the seahorses emerge fully
developed, but very small.
The young are then released into the water, and the
male often mates again within hours or days during the breeding season. Before breeding, seahorses may court for
several days. Scientists believe the courtship behavior synchronizes the
animals' movements and reproductive states so the male can receive the eggs
when the female is ready to deposit them. During this time, they may change
color, swim side by side holding tails or grip the same strand of sea grass
with their tails, and wheel around in unison in what is known as a
"predawn dance".
They eventually engage in a "true courtship
dance" lasting about 8 hours, during which the male pumps water through
the egg pouch on his trunk which expands and opens to display its emptiness.
When the female’s eggs reach maturity, she and her mate let go of any anchors
and drift upward snout-to-snout, out of the seagrass, often spiraling as they
rise. They interact for about 6 minutes, reminiscent of courtship. The female
then swims away until the next morning, and the male returns to sucking up food
through his snout. The female inserts her ovipositor into the male’s brood
pouch and deposits dozens to thousands of eggs. As the female releases her
eggs, her body slims while his swells. Both animals then sink back into the
seagrass and she swims away.
The
fertilized eggs are then embedded in the pouch wall and become surrounded by a
spongy tissue.The male supplies the eggs with prolactin, the same hormone
responsible for milk production in pregnant mammals.
The pouch provides oxygen,
as well as a controlled environment incubator. Though the egg yolk contribute
nourishment to the developing embryo, the male sea horses contribute additional
nutrients such as energy- rich lipids and also calcium to allow them to build
their skeletal system, by secreting them into the brood pouch that are absorbed
by the embryos. Further they also offer immunological protection,
osmoregulation, gas exchange and waste transport. While many aquarium hobbyists keep them as
pets, seahorses collected from the wild tend to fare poorly in home aquaria. Many
eat only live foods such as brine shrimp and are prone to stress, which damages
their immune systems and makes them susceptible to disease. Seahorse populations are thought to be
endangered as a result of overfishing and habitat destruction. Despite a lack
of scientific studies or clinical trials, the consumption of seahorses is
widespread in traditional Chinese medicine, primarily in connection with
impotence, wheezing, nocturnal enuresis, and pain, as well as labor induction.
Up to 20 million seahorses may be caught each year to be sold for such uses.
Preferred species of seahorses include H. kellogii, H. histrix, H. kuda, H. trimaculatus,
and H. mohnikei. As of 2012
the 54 recognized species in this genus .Seahorses are also consumed by the
Indonesians, the central Filipinos, and many other ethnic groups.
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