The Endearing Seahorse
They do not look like a Hippo and it is not likely they have ever been on a camping trip.
Instead, if you look closely they resemble a piece straight out of a chess set. Their scales
have been replaced by rings of bony plates circling their body. I tried to count the rings
and plates and they disappeared by the time I reached the end of its tail. Let me see, were
there 50 bony plates or were they rings? It makes no difference, I lost count and interest in
the project after my eyeballs grew blank.It is interesting to note that seahorses are very tiny or as large as the palm of a hand. The commercial uses for the palm of the hand size are: Chinese medicine, fish aquariums, and dried decorations. Seahorses are captured and shipped to various countries at the rate of 20,000,000 each year. Seahorses have a reproduction rate of up to a few hundred and maybe less depending upon the species and size of the animal. It does not take a Chinese abacus to calculate that the population of some of the seahorse species could diminish and perhaps disappear in the near future.
Is there a problem for the female seahorse to have babies? There certainly is because the female does not have babies, the male has the labor pains, and has the babies one at a time during the birthing process. They have a unique method to produce their offspring. Eggs are produced by the female who nestles up to the male's brooding pouch and deposits the eggs in a tiny opening in the pouch located under his tail. The male fertilizes the eggs externally by expelling his sperm as the eggs enter the pouch. The female then has the audacity to flick its tail and swim away from the male never to see how many young ones will be born. 
Dear old daddy seahorse has to incubate the young which takes eight to ten days,
and then he begins a rhythmic movement that causes him to thrust his pouch forward. After a few
thrusts the pouch pops open and out jumps one of his darling offspring. Some are so tiny they could
lie on the head of a straight pin. This rhythmical motion will continue for an hour or more until
several hundred babies are born, depending upon the species. Each of the babies immediately
swims for the nearest blade of sea grass, curls its tail around the blade of grass and
starts to feed on minute organisms. It sucks water through its nose-like mouth, which pulls in the
live organism of its choice.Their habitat will be found where the water currents are slow. Seahorses are slow in movement due to their minuscule strength. They have three fins; a pair of pectoral fins which are barely noticeable behind the gills, one anal fin beneath the belly, and a noticeable undulating dorsal fin on their back. When a right or left turn is necessary, they merely turn their head in the direction they have chosen. Seahorses can see from both sides of their head and may spot food on both sides at the same time. They also can see in a binocular vision in front of their head. Who would have thought a seahorse would have such a momentous decision; right, left, or straight ahead to get that tasty morsel. Mother nature provides for every living creature.
|
