Seahorse Facts

Seahorses belong to the ‘syngnathidae’ family. The word is derived from two Greek words ‘Syn’ which means fused and ‘Ganthus’ which means jaws. They belong to the genus called ‘hippocampus’ which means ‘hippo-horse’ and ‘campus-sea monster’ in Greek. After a lot of confusing researches and findings it has now been  proved that the seahorse is a proper fish with fins, gills and a bladder and not an insect or a shellfish as determined by early studies. The seahorse is a fish with a different appearance when compared to other fishes. They have a head like that of a horse, a tail like that of a monkey; a pouch to carry eggs like kangaroos and the eyes that to some extent resembles that of a chameleon. Their average height ranges from 6-8 inches and they are found in shallow, coastal, tropical and temperate waters all across the world. Seahorses have excellent camouflage tactics which makes it difficult for others to track them. Let us go through few other interesting facts about seahorses in the section below.

• Seahorses have very thin skin which stretches over their bony plates rather than being dressed with scales.
• The oldest seahorse fossil recorded dates back to three million years ago.
• Seahorses received international protection on 15^th of May, 2004.
• Seahorses swim in an upright position. They make use of the pectoral fins that are behind their eyes to steer.
• Seahorses can be found in different colours ranging from orange, red, yellow, green and at times grey.
• Seahorses come in two common patterns, zebra stripes and spots.
• A group of seahorses are known as a herd.
• The average lifespan of a seahorse in the wild is between 1-5 yrs.
• There is a small crown on the head of the seahorse that can be compared to a human fingerprint.
• You can always find seahorses resting because they are very bad at swimming. A seahorse wraps its prehensile tail around a stationary object while resting, just like a monkey.
• Seahorses have the ability to move one of their eyes at a time.
• A seahorse makes use of its extra long snout to suck food. They generally feed on tiny fish, plankton and small shrimps.
• It is believed that seahorses originated in the Pacific Ocean.
• It was once believed that seahorses were monogamous, but research now has proved it to be untrue.
• When mating the female seahorse deposits the eggs into the pouch of the male seahorse that fertilizes the eggs internally, carrying them till they develop and hatch.
• Seahorses engage themselves in long eight hours of courtship dance which includes spinning around, swimming side by side and changing colours.
• The body of the male seahorse bloats up when the female deposits the eggs and the body of the female seahorse slims down.
• The male seahorse feed the eggs with the similar hormone that causes the production of milk in most animals.
• The gestation period in seahorse is for a period of two to four weeks. During the gestation period, the male and the female seahorse meet for six minutes and then part for the entire day.
• Seahorses can give birth to as little as 5 or as many as 1,500 young ones at one time.
• Like any other fish, seahorses take no accountability or responsibility of nurturing their young ones after birth.
• Research shows that less than one percent of the new born make it to adulthood.
• A female seahorse demands for a very long courtship in order to protect her clutch.
• Male seahorses are generally aggressive and will often indulge in a fight to attract their female counterparts.
• The daily meeting ritual that the male and female seahorses follow during gestation period is for the female to check on her clutch.
• Seahorses are capable of ambushing their prey because of excellent camouflage tactics they posses.
• Seahorses have a very powerful digestive system; therefore they need to keep eating at regular intervals. The food which they eat passes into their digestive system very quickly since they don’t have a stomach and teeth.
• A two week old seahorse can consume as many as 3000 to 4000 brine shrimps in a day.