How does a seahorse work? Miracle fish: seahorse What type of seahorse is it?

If you don't live near a warm ocean or water park, you probably haven't seen seahorses or sea dragons to understand just how amazing these tiny creatures are. Their long, elongated heads, like those of a horse, give them an almost mythical image. In reality, they are not immortal, and besides, many die during the storm. Sea “horses” hide with the help of excellent camouflage; long spines and ribbon-like outgrowths make them invisible in their natural underwater environment.

Seahorses range in size from 2 to 20 centimeters. Seahorses, like leafy sea dragons and pipefish, bear their young in special pouches where the female spawns. The burden of maternal care falls on. With such entertaining and interesting facts, as well as amazing photos of seahorses we invite you to familiarize yourself.

Seahorses (Hippocampus) - gentle and beautiful creatures get their names from the ancient Greek "hippo", which means "horse" and "campos" - "sea monsters". The genus Hippocampus includes 54 species of marine fish.
The spotted seahorse in the photo is 15 centimeters long and lives up to four years.

A spectacular rainbow seahorse in Hamburg, Germany.

Leafy sea dragons at Georgia Aquarium. Sea “monsters” live off the southern coast of Australia and are masters of camouflage. Seemingly harmless, the sea dragon is a real predator - it feeds on small fish and shrimp.

The weedy sea dragon is endangered. With their small tubular snouts, relatives of seahorses suck up tiny prey, sometimes including various debris.

Leafy sea dragons at Birch Aquarium, San Diego, California. They can grow up to 35 cm in length. When the males are ready to mate, their leafy tails turn bright yellow.

Black Sea seahorse rare sight in shallow waters, Romania.

Leafy sea dragon in an aquarium, Atlanta. In nature, they live in the tropical coastal waters of South and Western Australia.

Spiny seahorse(Hippocampus histrix) gets its name from the spines protruding from it. Usually lives in - from 3 to 80 meters. One of the largest species of seahorses and can grow up to 17 cm.

Seahorse at the Oregon Aquarium. Seahorses are not good swimmers. The other is the only species of fish where the males carry unborn offspring.

Weed sea dragon near seaweed, Sydney, Australia. Brown algae and reefs provide them with good camouflage and protection from predators.

At first glance, seahorses appear to be pregnant, but they are not. Bellied seahorses(Hippocampus abdominalis) is a separate species and one of the largest, can reach a length of 35 cm.

The spiny seahorse, like most of its fellows, is in danger of extinction. Human appetite for exotic fish is growing, which is why pipits have been added to the list of protected fish under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Leafy sea dragons, like their relatives, weed dragons, are very caring fathers. They bear their offspring on themselves. The fry that are born immediately become independent.

Pipefish another distant relative of seahorses. This creature has a longer, straighter body with tiny mouths.

Another of the seahorse relatives at the Wilhelm Zoo, Germany.

Macro photographs of gray and yellow seahorses at Zurich Zoo. When eating or interacting with other relatives, these fish make a “clicking” sound.

Seem like there is love between them...

Leafy sea dragons dance at the Dallas Aquarium. The only working fins are on the chest and back, so sea dragons are not very fast - 150 meters per hour. Individuals were observed that spent up to 68 hours in one place.

A pygmy seahorse provides excellent camouflage against soft corals near Cebu, Philippines. Pygmies reach a maximum length of 2.4 cm. The habitat ranges from southern Japan to Northern Australia in reef areas at a depth of 10-40 meters.

Pipefish - Solenostomus paradoxus - off the coast of Thailand. Close relatives of seahorses come in a variety of colors and sizes, ranging from 2.5 to 50 cm.

Excellent camouflage.

Weedy sea dragons close up. Left: Shelly Beach weed dragon, Australia, right: eggs on male dragons.

Morning mating dances of seahorses.

The skinny body of the weed dragon “flies” through the water. The body of the sea dragon and its color develops based on the environment and food.

The skinny and toothless pipefish has a snake-like body.

Seahorses are voracious. The absence of a stomach and teeth forces them to constantly feed. In this regard, they consume up to 50 shrimp per day.

Before mating, the courtship ritual of seahorses lasts several days. Few couples stay together for life; most stay together only during the mating season.

A miracle of nature.

Perfection of nature.

Close-up

Friendly family.

Schultz's pipefish - Corythoichthys schultzi - in Egypt.

Different types of seahorses and dragons.

Seahorses are the slowest sea fish.

Only 1% of fry grow to adulthood.

Seahorses are masters of camouflage.

The pygmy pipit is one of the smallest vertebrates in the world against a backdrop of soft corals.

Stunning shot: a kiss between lovers.

The beauty of a leafy sea dragon.

The pipefish family includes: seahorses, pipefish, leafy and weedy sea dragons.

Spiny seahorse.

The proud loneliness of a seahorse.

Close-up.

Curiosity.

Seahorses are very peculiar fish with an extraordinary appearance and interesting biology. They belong to the spiny family of the order Stickleback. This affiliation is not accidental, because seahorses, one might say, are brothers of other interesting fish - pipefish. There are 50 known species of seahorses, several of the largest species are called sea dragons.

Grass sea dragon, or ragpiper (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus).

The appearance of seahorses is so unusual that at first glance it is difficult to recognize them as fish. The body of the skates is bizarrely curved, the back sticks out with a hump, the abdomen also protrudes forward, the front part of the body is thin and curved like the neck of a horse (hence the name). The head is small, its front part is elongated like a tube, the eyes are bulging. The tail of seahorses is long and very flexible; in a calm state, the fish curls it into a ring or wraps its tail around the stems of aquatic plants. The body of skates is covered with various thickenings, knobs, outgrowths and similar decorations. The coloring of these fish is often monochromatic, but different species are colored very differently. In any case, the coloring of each species very accurately imitates the color and texture of the surface on which this horse lives. Pipits living among aquatic plants are often brown, yellowish, and green; Pipits living among corals can be red, bright yellow, or purple.

Seahorses are fluent in the art of camouflage.

In addition, each fish can change its hue to some extent. Seahorses are small fish, their size varies from 2 to 20 cm.

The smallest species, the dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti), is only 2 cm long. It is completely indistinguishable from coral branches.

These fish live in the seas of tropical and subtropical zones. Their range encircles the entire globe. Seahorses live in shallow waters among seagrass beds or among corals. These are sedentary and generally very sedentary fish. Typically, seahorses wrap their tail around a branch of coral or a tuft of sea grass and spend most of their time in this position. But large sea dragons do not know how to attach to vegetation. For short distances they swim holding their body vertically; if they have to leave the “home”, they can swim in an almost horizontal position. They swim slowly. In general, the character of these fish is surprisingly calm and meek; seahorses do not show aggression towards their fellow fish and other fish.

The intricately decorated leafy sea dragon (Phycodurus eques) is indistinguishable from its surroundings.

They feed on plankton. They track the smallest crustaceans by rolling their eyes funny. As soon as the prey approaches the miniature hunter, the seahorse inflates its cheeks, creating negative pressure in the mouth and sucks up the crustacean like a vacuum cleaner. Despite their small size, skates are big eaters and can indulge in gluttony for up to 10 hours a day.

Seahorses are monogamous fish; they live in married pairs, but can periodically change partners. It is characteristic that these fish carry eggs, with males and females changing roles. During the mating season, females grow a tube-shaped ovipositor, and in the male, thickened folds in the tail area form a pouch. Before spawning, partners perform a long mating dance.

Spawning pair of seahorses.

The female lays eggs in the male's pouch and he carries them for about 2 weeks. Newborn fry emerge from the pouch through a narrow opening. Sea dragons do not have a pouch and hatch eggs on the stem of their tail. The fertility of different species ranges from 5 to 1500 fry. Newborn fish are completely independent and move away from the parent pair.

Eggs on the tail of a sea dragon.

Currently, many species of seahorses have become very rare, and some are even on the verge of extinction. This is facilitated by the massive catch of these fish and their low fertility. Seahorses are caught for their meat, which is used in the cooking of eastern countries and in oriental medicine. In addition, souvenirs made from dried seahorses are very popular. It is not very easy to keep seahorses in aquariums; they are demanding of food and are susceptible to disease, but it is very interesting to watch them.

The leafy sea dragon broods the eggs.

how a male seahorse gives birth to fry.

Many have seen these sea creatures on TV or in aquariums, but not everyone realizes how surprising interesting facts about the seahorse can be. These beautiful fish representatives amaze with their unique properties. However, they are very difficult to observe in the wild. Moreover, the number of seahorses has recently declined sharply due to the destruction of their habitats.

Seahorses are the only fish with necks. Scientists have proven that seahorses are relatives of needle fish. True, during evolution 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. The S-shaped body shape allows skates to successfully hunt from cover. They freeze among the seaweed or reefs, and when a tiny larva swims by, they grab it by turning their heads.
Skates can ride on fish. Thanks to their curved tail, seahorses can travel long distances. They grab onto the fins of the perch and hold on until the fish swims into the algae thickets. And the skates grab their mate with their tail and swim in an embrace.
Ice skates' eyes move independently of each other. The seahorse's organ of vision 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.
Master of Disguise Skates. The ability to change color depending on location allows seahorses to avoid numerous enemies. Just like chameleons, pipits match the color of their scales to the color of coral or algae, making them almost invisible.
Seahorses have an excellent 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 proboscis, pipits suck in plankton, small larvae and crustaceans. Moreover, this happens so quickly that it is difficult to track.
Almost no one eats seahorses. These small fish can become prey for other predators only by accident. They consist almost entirely of bones, spines and scales, so there are few hunters for them, except perhaps stingrays and large crabs.
Seahorses are susceptible to stress. Stress often poses a mortal danger to seahorses. These fish thrive in clean, calm water. Strong sea motion leads to depletion of their strength. And with a sudden change of location, they may even die. Therefore, it is difficult to breed skates in aquariums; they do not take root well in an artificial environment.
The female chooses the male herself. We can say that seahorses have a matriarchy. After all, it is the females who decide which male to choose as a spouse.
Seahorses perform mating dances. For several days, the female performs a kind of dance with her supposed chosen one, rising to the surface of the water and sinking to the bottom, intertwining her tails. If the male lags behind the bride, she will most likely abandon him and look for another, more profitable match.
Male seahorses are "pregnant". If the female has chosen a suitable male, then she remains faithful to him until the end of her life. She entrusts the male with bearing the eggs and caring for the offspring. The female transfers the eggs to a special pouch on the male’s body. There, future skates grow within a month and a half. And then they are born as 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 are only kept until full maturity. This is a function of protecting future offspring.
10
Skates are fragile, but tenacious. One in a hundred seahorse fry born survives to become full-fledged adults. This is a very high indicator for fish. It is thanks to this indicator that seahorses have not become extinct to this day.
11
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 the naval power of the Northern Fleet. But, since seahorses are not found in the waters of the Barents Sea, the image of the seahorse was replaced by the image of a dolphin. It should be noted that seahorses are inhabitants of tropical and subtropical salt water bodies. And not all of Russia’s largest seas are included in this list.
12
30 species of skates are listed in the Red Book. But 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 activity. In Thailand, Australia, and Malaysia, skates are caught to be dried and used 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 plankton useful for skates is often eaten by jellyfish, which are favorably affected by climate change.
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 the delicacy is on average $800 per serving. And in China, fried skates are served on sticks.
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Skates have lived on Earth for 40 million years.. Although fossilized seahorses are rare, scientists have proven that these fish have existed for tens of millions of years. They appeared at a time when, as a result of tectonic shifts in the earth's crust, shallows formed in the oceans and algae began to spread.

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David Juhasz

Not many of the Creator's creations look so incredible and beautiful at the same time. This fish swims slowly in an upright position, curling its tail forward to capture algae tendrils while its alert eyes help it search for food and avoid danger.

Seahorses They are among the popular pets kept in aquariums. If an aquarium with these fish is installed in any public place, they immediately attract the attention of visitors. People throng to watch these exquisite fish floating in the aquarium. Sometimes seahorses meet and connect with their tails. Then, just as elegantly, they untwist their tails and calmly disperse in different directions.

Seahorses tend to live along the shore, among seaweed and other plants. They have only one mating partner. The distance they travel does not exceed a few meters. The seahorse's body length ranges from 4 to 30 cm, and it continues to grow throughout the three years of its life.

Evolution cannot explain the origin of the seahorse's reproductive functions. The whole process of childbearing is too “unorthodox”.

There are different types of seahorses: dwarf (Atlantic species, smaller in size than other species), brown, found in Europe, large brown or blackish, found in the Pacific Ocean, and medium (in size), found in Australian waters.

Unique creation

Sea horse is such a unique being that it is indeed very difficult to accept (as evolutionists want it to be) that he is the product of undirected evolutionary forces. Examine the seahorse carefully and you will see that all the features of its design testify to the miracle of creation by God the Creator.

The top of the seahorse's body is covered with a bony shell that protects it from danger. This shell is so hard that you cannot crush a dry dead skate with your hands. Its strong skeleton makes the seahorse unattractive to predators, so no one usually touches this fish.

The female seahorse is completely encased in this protective shell. The male's body is also enclosed in it, with the exception of the lower part of the body. The shell is often covered with numerous bone rings.

The uniqueness of the seahorse among fish is that its head is located at a right angle to its body. When swimming, its body remains upright. The seahorse's head can move up or down, but cannot turn sideways. The inability to move his head in different directions would likely cause problems in other creatures, but the Creator in His wisdom designed the seahorse so that its eyes move and rotate independently of each other while simultaneously observing events in different directions from it.

In order to swim vertically, it uses fins. It sinks and rises, changing the volume of gas inside its swim bladder. If the swim bladder is damaged and even a small amount of gas is lost, the seahorse sinks to the bottom and lies helpless until death.

If it is a product of evolution, then we must ask the question: how did this creature manage to survive while its swim bladder evolved? The idea of a seahorse's complex swim bladder gradually evolving through trial and error is simply unimaginable. It is surely more reasonable to believe that this being was created by a Great Creator.

The male gives birth to the babies!

Perhaps the most incredible (if not strange) feature of the seahorse is that the male gives birth to the young. Scientists became aware of this unusual phenomenon only in the last century.

At the very base of the male seahorse's abdomen (where there is no protective shell) there is a large leathery pocket and a slit-like opening. And when the female lays eggs directly into this pocket, the male fertilizes them.

The female lays eggs in the pocket until it is completely full (it can contain more than 600 eggs). The inner lining of the pocket becomes like a sponge, filled with blood vessels that play a role in feeding the eggs. This is an extraordinary feature of a male seahorse! When the laying of eggs is complete, the future dad sails away with his inflated pocket, representing a kind of living stroller for the cubs.

After one or two months, the male gives birth to tiny babies - an exact copy of the adults. The miniature addition to the family is squeezed through the hole until the bag is completely empty. Sometimes the male experiences very strong labor pains in order to push out the last cub. The birth of cute babies is an amazing sight, but for the male the process of childbirth is very grueling. Seahorses that are born are not called "sea stallions", but simply "babies".

Evolution cannot explain the origin of reproductive functions seahorse. The whole process of childbearing is too “unorthodox”. Indeed, the structure of the seahorse appears to be a mystery if you try to explain it as a result of evolution. As one prominent specialist said several years ago: “In relation to evolution, the seahorse is in the same category as . Because he is a mystery that confuses and destroys all theories trying to explain the origin of this fish! Recognize the Divine Creator, and everything will be explained.".

Problems with evolutionary theory related to fossils

IN seahorse The Creator's plan is clearly and clearly manifested. But the fossil record poses another problem for those who believe in evolution. To defend the idea that seahorse is the product of evolution over millions of years, proponents of this theory need fossils that show the gradual development of a lower form of animal life into the more complex form of a seahorse. But, much to the regret of evolutionists, "no fossilized seahorses have been found".

Like the multitude of creatures that fill the seas, skies and land, the seahorse has no link that can connect it with any other form of life. Like all major types of living creatures, the complex seahorse was created suddenly, as the book of Genesis tells us.

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Most of all, a seahorse resembles a chess piece of a knight. A bizarre, but clearly horse-like muzzle on a long neck that goes into the chest, and instead of a stand, a rather long, curled tail. Clinging to the branches of plants with their tails, the skates stick out in the thickets, like candles or funny toys on a Christmas tree.

Everything about skating is surprising. Look at the head - it is attached at almost 90 degrees to the body and never moves left or right. This “constructive deficiency” is made up for by eyes that can look simultaneously in different directions and rotate independently of each other, just like those of chameleons. Like the latter, seahorses can change their color to match the tone and color of aquatic plants.

Skates swim, if this can be called swimming, in an upright position with their heads slightly tilted downwards using 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. They usually attach their flexible tails to plant stems and change body color, completely blending into the background. In this way, they simultaneously protect themselves from predators and camouflage themselves while hunting.

Among fish, the seahorse is known for its monogamy, i.e. for keeping partners faithful until the end of life. Their courtship during the breeding season is very touching. The male and female of the same pair meet and dance together. This dance includes ritual walks “arm in arm” (with their tails intertwined) and surprisingly graceful circling among the seaweed; they perform peculiar dances around their partners and accompany themselves with clicking sounds, the tempo of which can vary.

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 eggs into the male's pouch, where they are fertilized and develop. The liquid filling the pockets contains no more salts than 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. This is how the little fish live, like baby kangaroos, for two whole months in a pouch on their dad’s belly.

When the development of the larvae is completed, the father begins to bend forward and backward, helping the children 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, the first thing they do is try to cling to something with their thin tails, but most often they grab each other and - grandfather for a turnip, grandmother for a grandfather - remain hanging for a couple of days as a whole garland, but At the same time, do not forget to hunt.

Seahorses are unusually voracious. They catch anything living that can fit into their mouth. The tubular snout acts like a pipette: when the cheeks of the fish sharply inflate, the prey is sharply drawn into the mouth from a distance of 4 cm. Young seahorses are able to feed for up to 10 hours a day and during this time eat up to 3,600 small gill-footed Artemia crustaceans.

In nature, there are only a few natural enemies of 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 an endangered marine species.

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